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TEXTS and DOCUMENTS. 



PRECEDED BY 
A FOREWORD 

BY 



HENRI DAVIGNON. 



THOMAS NELSON & SONS, 

35 & 36 Paternoster Row, London, E.G. 

Edinburgh. New York. Paris. 



Printed in Great Britain. 




U. S. Government Inquiry 
Loaned by 




LIBRARY 

1 PLACE DE LA CONCORDE 




AMERICAN COMMISSION 
TO NEGOTIATE PEACE 



BELGIUM 



AND 



GERMANY. 




TEXTS and DOCUMENTS. 



PRECEDED BY 
A FOREWORD 

BY 



HENRI DAVIGNQN 




T_ AA4AAX- 



4 \cyYoC. 



[•ansfer 
Department of State 
1919. 



I- 



A WORD TO THE READER. 

We have collected in the present volume a certain number of texts, facsimiles, and other 
photographs of such a nature as to give an accurate picture of the heroic but deplorable situation of 
Belgium in the present war. Our country which existed by Right has been crushed by Might. But 
her'honour remains, and with it remains the glory of the struggle in which she has sought to avenge her 
afflictions. After a superhuman effort on the part of her soldiers under the leadership of their King, 
and vigorous protests on the part of her Government and moral, civil and religious authorities, and 
while awaiting the day of reparation which must inevitably come, Belgium avails herself of her right 
to make clear to the world how loyal has been her spirit and how undeserved her sufferings. Indeed, 
it is her duty to do so. An enemy, strong beyond all measure, defying treaties and setting at nought 
the most solemn promises, has fallen upon her, laid her low and devastated her according to a pre- 
conceived plan, and left her in ruins and drenched in blood, in the hope of obtaining by terrorism what 
he has been unable to obtain by threats and to compensate himself for the price he has had to pay for 
victory. Because he was checked in his advance successively at Liege, Antwerp and the Yser, the 
invading monster thought by calumny to belittle the honour and the loyalty of Belgian citizens. 

It is not our purpose here, either by argument or speeches or dissertations to reply to the systematic 
propaganda which has been carried on in neutral countries with an energy which is sufficient in itself 
to condemn it. Nothing is more convincing than the naked truth, and, in the case of Belgium, the truth 
appears in a triple light. Whoever wishes can come into contact with it in its three incarnations and 
receive from it a deep impression of the loyalty and innocence and infinite suffering which it presents 
to anyone who examines it. 

The reader will find, first of all, in the following pages, the story of Belgium's claim to 
independence, an independence which was recognised by the Powers in 1830 in consequence of a 
spontaneous and irresistible movement in favour of it on the part of a people born to liberty. In 
1839 tne Powers imposed upon the country a statute, very carefully prepared, constituting it a strictly 
neutral State. In 1870 they guaranteed that State against all attacks from outside, and in 1907 entered , 
into a second formal engagement to respect both the spirit of the statute and the obligations to the 
fulfilment of which it bound them. 

We shall next see in what manner Belgium met the threats and actual violation of her rights by 
the strongest of the Powers which guaranteed the inviolability of those rights, and what were the 
true and wise precepts which Belgium recommended her unarmed population to follow. 

Finally, by the contemplation of a long succession of appalling occurrences, we shall know by 
what systematic cruelty, injustice and violation of the laws of war and of humanity itself, the aggressor 
has placed a prosperous country, which he coveted, under his yoke. 

The texts which have been reproduced speak for themselves, and may be verified in the 
historical and juridical works from which they have been collected, or in the newspapers of neutral or 
hostile countries which have called our attention to them. The unpublished statements are necessarily 
incomplete, having been collected on the battlefield or furnished by martyrs fainting from exhaustion, 
or obtained at an inquiry such as is always very dangerous and difficult to hold for fear of malicious 
reprisals on the part of the occupying army. 

However, we have collected and published a sufficient number of these statements to enable the 
reader to realise the enormous extent of the damage inflicted on the victims of the invasion, the 
unceasing and bloody persecutions to which they were exposed, and the terrible and ungoverned rage of 
the butcher. However anxious we may be for a calm discussion of the facts, it is impossible to view 
Germany's dealings with Belgium in a light other than that in which we present them. We shall see 
that for every form of suffering undergone by the Belgians, whether massacre or devastation, whether 
atrocities committed on indhiduals or atrocities committed on communities, evidence of premeditation 
can be found in the publications of German theorists or the orders of the military commanders, or the 
admissions of their soldiers. 

* * 

(0201r— S.) Wt. 5284 — G . 500. 10/] 5. D & S. G 2, 



( ii ) 

We confidently hope that the perusal of this narrative will lead the impartial reader to form the 
following conclusions. 

The first is that "Belgium in resisting Germany has only performed her duty," 

Beyond the recognition of this fact Belgium asks for no mark of approval, and King Albert speaks 
in the name of all his people when he says in reply to the expressions of admiration with which he is 
greeted on all sides : " I have but done what any honest man should do." There is another conclusion 
which follows from this as a corollary, and one which closely concerns Germany, namely, that the 
bargain proposed by the mighty Empire to the little nation was an infamous bargain. The German 
Chancellor himself made this clear to the whole world when he said in the Reichstag : "The wrong we 
are committing." His tardy defence, by which he hoped to allay the indignation of neutrals after 
several months of war, and which consisted in the publication of two private Anglo-Belgian 
" Conversations " which were already known, before the occupation of Brussels, to have taken place, 
only brought out German bad faith in a clearer light. It was necessary to alter the text of these 
conversations in the translation in order that they might support his argument. The publication of the 
garbled passages in their complete and original form affords yet another proof that not even through 
her General Staff— who, in any case, are not competent to bind the country— did Belgium ever envisage 
any military action, except in consequence of an attack which she was, by treaty, bound to resist. 

* * 

The second conclusion to be drawn from the examination of the facts attested by the documents is 
that from the very beginning of the German invasion of Belgium, and before any proof could have been 
given of a hostile attitude on the part of the population, a system of terrorism was established. This 
system was already prepared in the minds of the leaders in conformity with the principles which 
governed their strategy. It was applied to Belgium immediately it was known that a free passage 
through the country would be refused ; and the exaggerated apprehensions which filled the minds of 
the soldiers, and in particular the dread of the " franc-tireurs," by which they were haunted, were 
additional motives for its application. The responsibility for the death of advanced patrols of Uhlans 
shot by small detachments of the regular Belgian Army sent forward to await the enemy in conceal- 
ment and then fall back and rejoin the main body, was, without any hesitation or any form of enquiry 
thrown upon civilians. 

As a matter of fact the civilians received the fullest instructions from the authorities warning them 
of their danger ; their arms had been taken from them by order, and stored and labelled "at the 
Communal Hall, and they had merely observed an attitude of curiosity with regard to the invader— 
which attitude, however, was soon changed into one of fury. They were ignorant of the true 
character of this war ; they were prepared for the horrors of the battle field ; but, outside its zone 
they expected to experience nothing more than an orderly occupation during which the rules of war 
would be observed. 

Everywhere the Clergy had advised an attitude ot calm. The first place in which the German 
troops halted after crossing the frontier at Gemmenich was the borough of Battice. The day before, 
the Cure had assured his parishioners from the pulpit that " the Germans are not savages." The - 
following clay the village was sacked and burned to the ground, and a number of civilians were 
assassinated. The whole of the district beyond the forts of Liege outside the range of the Belgian 
shells was the first to suffer from the application of the system. The sanguinary check inflicted on & the 
invader when his armies met with an unexpected resistance was visited on the populace, for it was 
thought necessary to make such an impression upon the people that their Government would be 
induced to abandon the struggle. The calm which ensued upon the fall of Liege was quickly 
followed by fresh extortions, and on the banks of the Meuse itself, as early as the 15th of August 
Vise was entirely destroyed for no military purpose. To this succeeded, at very short intervals" the 
massacres at Andenne, Dinant, Tamines, Aerschot, Louvain and Termonde, accompanied, in every 
case, by pillage, incendiarism and systematic devastations. The enemy had hoped that after the 
events at Liege their passage through the country would be unopposed, but when this was continually 
denied them in conformity with strict international obligations, they set themselves to put an end to 
delay and to destroy undefended towns " by way of warning " as they themselves now confess. As loner 
as there was an army in Belgium the same system was to be applied. The fury engendered by the 
thought of the losses which had been sustained and of the time which had been wasted, and the 
composition of the regiments of the first line, did much to bring about its application. In presence 
of the ruins of Dinant, more complete than those of Pompeii, and of the bodies exumed at Louvain and 
Aerschot, the military authorities stood aghast, and recognised that " we have gone too far ;" "it was 



( ni ) 

not necessary ;" " too much has been done." But not one of them disavowed the principle itself 
which had inspired the system. It is merely a question of degree which must be estimated, says the 
Staff Officer's Manual, solely according to military exigencies. 

And the interpretations differ according to the temper of the commentator. " Belgium has 
suffered," say the Roman Catholics, " from the circumstance that the first troops to arrive were 
Saxons or Pomeranians, sincerely convinced of the absolute power of the priests." And thus they 
explain the execution of 49 ecclesiastics who have to-day been recognised as innocent, the imprison- 
ment and ill-treatment of numbers of others, the sacrileges and the desecrations. 

Persons with an inadequate knowledge of the Belgian temperament continue to lay the blame on 
the fanaticism and the ignorance of the country people and the vagueness of the instructions issued by 
the Government, hoping thus to excuse the devastations and reprisals which took place in the south of 
Luxemburg, in the suburbs of Malines, at Limbourg and on the rural table lands near Liege. But the 
case of Dinant, Louvain, Namur and Termonde embarrasses them. In these towns the bourgeois, the 
intellectual class and the landowners had to suffer, as well as the monuments of art and science and 
charitable institutions. In these cases they endeavour to shut their eyes and express no opinion at all. 
Civilians carried away to Germany as prisoners and the few survivors of the massacres were warned 
not to speak ; the lists of bodies exhumed at Dinant were required to be given up : the Town Hall of 
Louvain was declared to be still standing and the bombardment of Termonde was described as a 
strategic necessity. 

Although the vast majority of the less educated in Germany, debarred from enlightenment by the 
strict intellectual blockade maintained by the Censor, still hold to the legend of the " gouging out of 
eyes and the conspiracy of the priests," an inclination to refute them has manifested itself in the 
independent press. A direct lie is given to an imperial statement as it appears in the telegram to 
President Wilson. Henceforth only isolated assaults by civilians are spoken of, but the brain of the 
soldier is still nourished with the suggestion which it has been thought necessary to keep alive. His 
friends write to him from his country : " Do not let the civilians come near you " ; " Fire on those 
who approach you." And he, in his turn, does not scruple to write from the war zone : "We are 
drinking the red wine of a Cure who has been executed." 

# * 

The third conclusion which neutrals must necessarily draw in face of the facts is that the German 
army in Belgium deliberately and effectively set at nought the rules of war. Here again, the wolf accuses 
the lamb. A single principle pervades the German notion of right : — " What is necessary or useful 
from the military point of view is permissible." The weaker party has to accept this principle and bow 
to it when resistance to it would bring upon him inordinate suffering. 

And this is how they justify their treachery in battle : expanding bullets are used because the 
morale of their enemy's troops is such that they can stand up to fair blows ; hospitals and open towns 
are bombarded because fortified towns are secured against sudden attack ; asphyxiating gases are 
employed because a winter in the trenches has only had the effect of enhancing the courage of the 
Belgian soldiers. 

What is a man's life to them ? What do they care for the laws of humanity or the usages of 
civilisation ? If regard for principles which the introductory chapter of the Conventions of the Hague 
deems to be axioms universally admitted, should involve a loss of time or a sacrifice of troops, or render 
success doubtful, it must be immediately set aside in the interests of humanity itself and with a view to 
a speedy termination of the war. Hostages, human shields and wanton shootings, such are the 
barbarous methods which will compel French, English or Belgian troops to take precautionary 
measures and reserve for themselves certain rights useful to assailants ; and they will be justified in so 
doing. 

And above all, there is the great method, of which the manual speaks — wholesale reprisals. For 
this a formula was already prepared. It is only necessary to reproduce the texts of the placards and the 
proclamations adapted to the occasion. This method may be usefully employed at all times, as upon 
the arrival anywhere of the wearied troops, in order to procure them a refreshing sleep, and executions 
have taken place by way of averting an imaginary danger. Others are synchronous with the alleged 
commis ion of the offence. Thus, when an attack is made by the regular army on a railway line, men, 
women and priests are taken from the villages of the neighbouring district, thrown into prison and 
conducted from one place to another without food or water ; a mock execution takes place, and finally 
they are actually shot as a warning to others and a guarantee for the future. Other executions again 



\ 



( iv ) 

took place subsequently to the offence by way of vengeance or retaliation and in this case consisted in 
the massacre of ioo, 300 or 800 persons, some of them little children at the breast " for the innocent 
must suffer for the guilty." 

And can we suppose that a man who has once " got his hand in " so to speak, would be deterred 
by the respect due to a wounded and disarmed soldier. The difficulty of transporting prisoners and the 
embarrassment they cause present another form of " military exigencies." And then comes the order 
to make no more prisoners — and the soldiers' notebooks are there to testify that this order is 
carried out. 

The fourth and last conclusion to which the study of the documents leads us is that Germany, 
having crushed Belgium in forcing a passage through the country after the fall of Liege, made an 
improper and arbitrary use of her occupation of that country by employing its resources for her own 
ends. Heavy war contributions during the period of hostilities were followed by systematic expropria- 
tion of the public funds. Requisitions, fines, and confiscations have paralysed the economic energies 
of the nation while the employment of intimidation and violence has paralysed it morally. But thanks 
to American generosity Belgium still subsists, in spite of the occupation, and it is, perhaps, the most 
consoling, and at the same time the most touching, aspect of the war that the great people of the new 
world should have spontaneously given their support to one of the little nations of the old Continent as 
a token of the admiration of the later races, with their future before them, for the self-sacrifice and 
high moral perceptions of a people in whom are revived the noblest traditions of the past. 

Nor will Belgium perish on account of the moral subjection to which she is exposed. Her 
enemies may imprison without trial the Burgomaster Max, the incarnation of civic independence ; they 
may try to impose silence and inactivity on Cardinal Mercier, who publicly denounced the Burgomaster's 
martyrdom ; they may daily arrest young people hurrying to join the camps of the army behind the 
impassable Yser, and visit their sins upon their families ; they may attempt by threats or feigned 
benevolence to convince the nation that its interests are with the invader — but nothing avails against 
the latent fundamental and paramount forces which operate to keep Belgium within herself, and isolate 
Germany on the soil which is the centre of her exploits, and make the Belgian people feel more and 
more confident of their final deliverance, and of a day of justice and redress to come. 

It cannot be said with truth of a nation that it has lost everything when it has preserved its soul ; 
nor indeed can this, in any case, be said of Belgium outside the daily narrowing circle within which 
the might of Germany battens upon it own sophisms. The sympathy of humanity throughout the 
world is with her. There is no one who is not grieved at her lot or who does not admire her secretly, 
if not openly, and no one who is not prepared to rejoice at her redemption. 

For, thank God, the God of absolute justice and eternal right, there is sufficient pure air in the 
universe, sufficient space in the spiritual world, for the fame of a people who have been able to show 
what liberty and honour mean for them, to live and thrive there unscathed by the ambitions, cupidity, 
selfish aspirations or reactionarv forces of others. 

HENRI DAVIGNON. 

London, May 1015. 



( I ) 



BELGIUM AT THE BAR OF HISTORY. 



Belgium, proud and confident, submits herself to the judgment of the World." 

Paul Hymans, Minister of State, Belgian Minister at London. 



( 2 ) 




H.M. LEOPOLD I, Elected King of the Belgians on the 4th June, 1831. 



" The position of Belgium has been determined by treaties and perpetual neutrality has been solemnly 
assured to her. . . . We cannot remind ourselves too often that neutrality is the true aim of our 
political existence. Sincerely, loyally and bravely to maintain it must be our constant aim." 

(Speech of the King at the opening of the Belgian Parliament on the ioth November, 1840.) 



( 3 ) 

THE FOUNDATIONS OF BELGIAN INDEPENDENCE AND 

NEUTRALITY. 



(2l^^7^T t;?^^<^f^ 



" The Belgian provinces forcibly separated from Holland shall form an independent State." 

Order passed by the Provisional Government of Brussels on the 4th October, 1830. 
"Belgium . . . shall form a perpetually neutral State. 

" The five powers . . . guarantee to it this perpetual neutrality, as also the integrity and 
inviolability of its territory. . . ." 

Article 5 of the Treaty of 18 Articles signed on the 26th June, 1831, by the 
representatives of the five Great Powers, including Prussia, and approved by 
the National Congress of the 9th July, 1831. 

" Belgium, within the 
limits specified in 
Articles 1, 2 and 4 shall 
form an independent and 
perpetually neutral State. 
It shall be bound to 
observe such neutrality 
towards all other States. - ' 

Article VII of the 
Treaty of 19th 
April, 1839, be- 
tween Belgium and 
the Netherlands. 
" H.M. the Emperor 
of Austria, King of 
Hungary and Bohemia, 
H.M. the King of the 
French, H.M. the Queen 
of the United Kingdom 
of Great Britain and Ire- 
land, H.M. the King oj 
Prussia and H.M. the 
Emperor of all the 
Russias, declare that the 
Articles hereunto an- 
nexed, and forming the 
tenour of the Treaty con- 
cluded this day between 
His Majesty the King of 
the Belgians and H.M. 
the King of the Nether- 
lands, Grand Duke of 
Luxembourg, are con- 
sidered as having the 
same force and validity 
as if they were textually 
inserted in the present 
Act, and that they are 
thus placed under the 
guarantee of their said 
Majesties." 

Article I of the 
Treaty signed at 
London on the 
19th April, 1839. 

5183 




( 4 ) 




H.M. LEOPOLD II, crowned King 1 of the Belgians on 10th December, 
1865. 



" Belgium, in the position in which International Law places her, will bear in mind both her duty to 
neutral States and her duty to herself. . . . The Belgian people are deeply conscious of their duty ; 
they know the value of the benefits that they were so fortunate as to acquire 40 years ago and have 
so honourably preserved. They are not likely to forget what is at stake — the welfare, freedom 
honour, and the very existence of their country." 

King's speech from the Throne, 1870.- 



( 5 ) 



THE CONFIRMATION OF BELGIAN NEUTRALITY. 



" H.M. The Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and H.M. the King of 
Prussia, desiring at the present time to record in a solemn Act their fixed determination to maintain 
the independence and neutrality of Belgium as established by Article VII of the Treaty signed at 
London on 19th April, 1839, between Belgium and the Netherlands, which article has been declared 
by the quintuple Treaty of 1839 to have the same force and the same validity as if it were inserted 
textually in the said quintuple Treaty, the said Majesties have resolved to conclude a separate Treaty 
between themselves, which, without invalidating or impairing the conditions of the quintuple Treaty above 
mentioned, will be subsidiary and accessory to it. 

" Article 1. — H.M. the King of Prussia having declared that, notwithstanding the hostilities in which 
the North German Confederation is engaged with France, it is his fixed determination to respect the 
neutrality of Belgium, so long as the same shall be respected by France, H.M. the Queen of the United 
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on her part declares that, if during the said hostilities the armies 
of France should violate that 'neutrality, she will be prepared to co-operate with His Prussian Majesty 
for the defence of the same in such a manner as may be mutually agreed upon, employing for that 
purpose her naval and military forces to ensure its observance, and to maintain in conjunction with 
His Prussian Majesty, then and thereafter, the Independence and Neutrality of Belgium." 

Treaty signed at London on the 9th August, 1870. An identic treaty was 
concluded and signed the same day between France and Great Britain. 

" Sir, 

In confirmation of my oral assurances, I have the honour to give you in writing the declaration — 
superfluous in view of the treaties in force — that the North German Confederation and its 
allies will respect the neutrality of Belgium, provided of course that it is respected by the other 
belligerent." 

Letter from Herr von Bismarck to Baron Northomb, Belgian Minister at Berlin, 
dated 22nd July, 1870. 



Article I. — The territory of neutral Powers is inviolable. 



"Article II. — Belligerents are forbidden to move across the territory of a neutral 
Power troops and convoys, either of munitions of war or of supplies. 



"Article X. — The fact of a neutral Power repelling, even by force, attacks on its 
neutrality cannot be considered as a hostile act." 

5th Convention by the Hague, signed by 44 States, including Germany. 



( 6 ) 




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Notice distributed by the German Consul General to the 

German residents in Antwerp on August 2nd, 1914, the date 

of the German ultimatum to Belgium. 



At the end of the circular the following sentence was added : " Germany, as well as France, has 
given to Belgium the assurance that her neutrality will be respected" 



( 7 ) 



ORAL GUARANTEES, GIVEN BY THE OFFICIAL REPRESEN- 
TATIVES OF THE GERMAN EMPIRE, WITH REGARD TO 
THE NEUTRALITY OF BELGIUM. 



" Belgian neutrality is provided for by International Conventions and Germany is determined to respect 
those Conventions." 

Speech by Herr von Jagow, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, at the 
meeting of the Budget Committee of the Reichstag on April 29th, 19 13. 

" Germany will not lose sight of the fact that the neutrality of Belgium is guaranteed by International 
treaty." 

Speech by Herr von Heeringen, Minister of War, at the same meeting. 

" In the course of the conversation which the Secretary-General of my Department had with Herr 
von Below this morning, he explained to the German Minister the scope of the military measures 
which we had taken, and said to him that they were a consequence of our desire to fulfil our 
international obligations, and that they in no wise implied an attitude of distrust towards our 
neighbours. 

"The Secretary-General then asked the German Minister if he knew of the conversation which he 
had had with his predecessor, Herr von Flotow, and of the reply which the Imperial Chancellor had 
instructed the latter to give. 

" In the course of the controversy which arose in 191 1 as a consequence of the Dutch scheme for 
the fortification of Flushing, certain newspapers had maintained that in the case of a Franco-German 
war Belgian neutrality would be violated by Germany. 

"The Department of Foreign Affairs had suggested that a declaration in the German Parliament 
during a debate on foreign affairs would serve to calm public opinion, and to dispel the mistrust which 
was so regrettable from the point of view of the relations between the two countries. 

" Herr von Bethmann-Hollweg replied that he had fully appreciated the feelings which had 
inspired our representations. He declared 'that Germany had no intention of violating Belgian neutrality, 
but he considered that in making a public declaration Germany would weaken her military position in 
regard to France, who, secured on the northern side, would concentrate all her energies on the east. 

" Baron van der Elst, continuing, said that he perfectly understood the objections raised by Herr 
von Bethmann-Hollweg to the proposed public declaration, and he recalled the fact that since then, in 
1913, Herr von Jagow had made reassuring declarations to the Budget Commission of the Reichstag 
respecting the maintenance of Belgian neutrality. 

" Her von Below replied that he knew of the conversation with Herr von Flotow, and that he was 
certain that the sentiments expressed at that time had not changed." 

Letter, dated 31st July, 1914, addressed by M. Davignon, Belgian Minister of 
Foreign Affairs, to the King's Ministers at Berlin, London and Paris. 

" The troops will not cross Belgian territory. Grave events are imminent. Perhaps you will see your 
neighbour's house in flames, but the fire will spare your dwelling." 

Herr von Below, German Minister at Brussels, to Brussels journalists on the 
morning of the 2nd August, 1914. 



( 8 ) 



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Photograph of the first page of the original text of the 

ultimatum sent by Herr von Below, German Minister, to 

M. Davignon, Minister for Foreign Affairs, at 7 p.m. on 

August 3nd, 1914, 



( 9 ) 

THE BARGAIN OFFERED BY GERMANY TO BELGIUM. 

Imperial German Legation in Belgium, 

Brussels, 

August 2, 1914. 

(Very Confidential.) 

" Reliable information has been received by the German Government to the effect that French 
forces intend to march on the line of the Meuse by Givet and Namur. This information leaves no 
doubt as to the intention of France to march through Belgian territory against Germany. 

" The German Government cannot but fear that Belgium, in spite of the utmost goodwill, will 
be unable, without assistance, to repel so considerable a French invasion with sufficient prospect of 
success to' afford an adequate guarantee against danger to Germany. It is essential for the self-defence 
of Germany that she should anticipate any such hostile attack. The German Government would, 
however, feel the deepest regret if Belgium regarded as an act of hostility against herself the fact that 
the measures of Germany's opponents force Germany, for her own protection, to enter Belgian 
territory. 

" In order to exclude any possibility of misunderstanding, the German Government make the 
following declaration : — 

" 1. Germany has in view no act of hostility against Belgium. In the event of Belgium being 
prepared in the coming war to maintain an attitude of friendly neutrality towards Germany, the German 
Government bind themselves, at the conclusion of peace, to guarantee the possessions and independence 
of the Belgian Kingdom in full. 

" 2. Germany undertakes, under the above-mentioned condition, to evacuate Belgian territory on 
the conclusion of peace. 

" 3. If Belgium adopts a friendly attitude, Germany is prepared, in co-operation with the Belgian 
authorities, to purchase all necessaries for her troops against a cash payment, and to pay an indemnity 
for any damage that may have been caused by German troops. 

" 4 Should Belgium oppose the German troops, and in particular should she throw difficulties in 
the way of their march by a resistance of the fortresses on the Meuse, or by destroying railways, roads, 
tunnels, or other similar works, Germany will, to her regret, be compelled to consider Belgium as an 
enemy. 

" In this event, Germany can undertake no obligations towards Belgium, but the eventual adjustment 
of the relations between the two States must be left to the decision of arms. 

"The German Government, however, entertain the distinct hope that this eventuality will not 
occur an^ that the Belgian Government will know how to take the necessary measures to prevent the 
occurrence of incidents such as those mentioned. In this case the friendly ties which bind the two 
neighbouring States will grow stronger and more enduring." 



Translation of the German ultimatum. 



( io ) 




H„M. King Albert, crowned King of the Belgians on the 23rd December, 1909. 

"Valiant soldiers in a holy cause, 1 have every confidence in your stubborn valour, and greet you 
in the name of Belgium. Your fellow citizens are proud of you. You will triumph, for you are the 
army which fights on the side of justice." 

Proclamation of the King to the Army, 5th August, 19 14. 



( II ) 



BELGIUM READY FOR ALL EMERGENCY AND UNITED 
IN THE FACE OF THE MENACE. 

" Never since 1830 has a more grave moment come to Belgium : the integrity of our territory is 
threatened. 

" The strength of our just cause, the sympathy which Belgium, proud of her free institutions, and 
of her moral conquests, has never ceased to enjoy at the hands of other nations, the fact that our 
independent existence is necessary for the balance of power in Europe, these considerations give rise to 
hope that the events which we fear will not take place. 

" But if our hopes fail, if we must resist the invasion of our soil and must defend our threatened 
homes, this duty, hard though it be, will find us ordered and prepared for the greatest sacrifices {cheers 
and cries of ' Long Live the King ! Long Live Belgium !'). 

" From this moment, with a view to meet every contingency, the valiant youth of our nation stand 
ready, firmly resolved with the traditional tenacity and calmness of the Belgians to defend their 
fatherland at a moment of danger (cheers). 

" To them 1 send a brotherly greeting in the name of the nation (cheers and cries of Long Live the 
Army !). Throughout Flanders and the country of Wallonie in town and country one sentiment alone 
fills every heart — patriotism ; one vision alone fills every mind — our threatened independence. One 
duty alone is laid upon our wills, stubborn resistance (cheers). 

" At this grave moment two virtues are indispensable — courage, calm (renewed cheers) but firm, 
and close union among all Belgians. 

" Striking evidence of both these virtues is already before the eyes of a nation full of enthusiasm. 

" The faultless mobilisation of our army, the multitude of volunteers, the devotion of the civil 
population, the self-sacrifice of families have shown incontestably that the whole Belgian people is 
carried away by stimulating courage (applause). The moment has come to act. 

" I have called you together, gentlemen, to give to the Legislative Chambers an opportunity to 
associate themselves with the impulses of the people in the same sentiment of sacrifice. Gentlemen, 
you will know how to deal urgently with all the measures which the situation requires for the war and 
for public order (general assent). 

" When I see this enthusiastic gathering in which there is only one party, that of the fatherland 
(enthusiastic cheers and cries of Long Live Belgium), in which at this moment all hearts beat as one, 
my mind goes back to the Congress of 1830, and I ask of you gentlemen, are you determined 
unswervingly to maintain intact the whole patrimony of our ancestors ? (Yes, yes, from every side.) 

" No one in the country will fail in his duty. 

"The army, strong and disciplined, is fit to do this task: my Government and I have full 
confidence in its leaders and its soldiers. (Hear, hear.] 

" The Government, firmly attached to the populace and supported by them, is conscious of its 
responsibilities, and will bear them to the end with the deliberate conviction that the efforts of all 
united in the most fervent and generous patriotism will safeguard the supreme good of the country- 

" If the foreigner, disregarding the neutrality whose every duty we have always scrupulously 
observed should violate our territory, he will find all Belgians grouped around their sovereign who 
will never betray his coronation oath, and around a Government possessing the absolute confidence of 
the entire nation. (Cheers on all the Benches.) 

" I have faith in our destiny ; a country which defends itself commands the respect of all ; such a 
country shall never perish. (Hear, hear. Long live the King, long live Belgium.) 

" God will be with us in this just cause (fresh applause). 

" Long live independent Belgium (long and unanimous cheers from the Assembly and from the 
Galleries)." 

The King's Speech to the Belgian Parliament met in session extraordinary on 
4th August, 1 9 14. 



( » ) 




M. DAVIGNON, Minister for Foreign 
Affairs. 



"No hesitation was possible as to the reply 
called for by the amazing proposal of the German 
Government." 

Letter to Belgian Ministers at Paris, London 
and St. Petersburg. 



BARON DE BROQUEVILLE, Minister of 

War, President of the Council of 

Belgian Ministers. 

" I declare in the name of the whole nation, 
united heart and soul, that this people, even if 
they are conquered, will never be subdued." 

Speech to the Chamber of Deputies on 
4th August, 1 914. 



( 13 ) 



THE PROFFERED BARGAIN REJECTED. 



" Brussels, 

" 3rd August, 1 9 14. 

" The German Government stated in their note of the 2nd August, 1914, that according to reliable 
information French forces intended to march on the Meuse via Givet and Namur, and that Belgium, in 
spite of the best intentions, would not be in a position to repulse, without assistance, an advance of 
French troops. 

" The German Government, therefore, considered themselves compelled to anticipate this attack 
and to violate Belgian territory. In these circumstances. Germany proposed to the Belgian Government 
to adopt a friendly attitude towards her, and undertook, on the conclusion of peace, to guarantee the 
integrity of the Kingdom and its possessions to their full extent. The note added that if Belgium put 
difficulties in the way of the advance of German troops, Germany would be compelled to consider her 
as an enemy, and to leave the ultimate adjustment of the relations between the two States to the 
decision of arms. 

" This note has made a deep and painful impression upon the Belgian Government. 

" The intentions attributed to France by Germany are in contradiction to the formal declarations 
made to us on August 1 , in the name of the French Government. 

" Moreover, if, contrary to our expectation, Belgian neutrality should be violated by France, 
Belgium intends to fulfil her international obligations and the Belgian army would offer the most 
vigorous resistance to the invader. 

"The treaties of 1839, confirmed by the treaties of 1870, vouch for the independence and neutrality 
of Belgium under the guarantee of the Powers, and notably of the Government of His Majesty the 
King of Prussia. 

" Belgium has always been faithful to her international obligations, she has carried out her duties 
in a spirit of loyal impartiality, and she has left nothing undone to maintain and enforce respect for her 
neutrality. 

"The attack upon her independence with which the German Government threaten her constitutes 
a flagrant violation of international law. No strategic interest justifies such a violation of law. 

" The Belgian Government, if they were to accept the proposals submitted to them, would sacrifice 
the honour oi the nation and betray their duty towards Europe. 

" Conscious of the part which Belgium has played for more than eighty years in the civilisation of 
the world, they refuse to believe that the independence of Belgium can only be preserved at the price 
of the violation of her neutrality. 

" If this hope is disappointed the Belgian Government are firmly resolved to repel, by all the 
means in their power, every attack upon their rights." 

Reply of the Belgian Government to the German Ultimatum. 



14 ) 



ADMISSION BY THE OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVES OF 
. GERMANY OF THE VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW. 

" We are now in a state of necessity (Notwehr), and necessity knows no law. 

" Our troops have occupied Luxemburg and perhaps have already entered Belgian territory. 
That is a breach of international law. It is true that the French Government declared at 
Brussels that France would respect Belgian neutrality as long as her adversary respected it. 
We knew, however, that France stood ready for an invasion. France could wait, we could not. A 
French attack on our flank on the lower Rhine might have been disastrous. Thus we were forced to 
ignore the rightful protests of the Governments of Luxemburg and Belgium. The wrong— I speak 
openly— the wrong we thereby commit we will try to make good as' soon as our military aims have been 
attained. y b y 

"He who is menaced as we are and is fighting for the highest possession can only consider how he 
is to hack his way through (durchhauen). We stand shoulder to shoulder with Austria- Hungary." 

Speech of Herr von Bethmann-Hollweg, German Imperial Chancellor, before the German Reichstag on 
August 4th, 1914. 



" The Belgian Minister 
when Herr von Jagow ex- 

" ' You must understand that 
many has decided to violate the 
feel the most poignant regret, 
question of life or death for the 
want to be caught between the 
a decisive blow at France, in order 

" ' But,' said Baron Beyens, 
ently extended to make it possible 

"They are too strongly forti- 
of you ? Merely 
passage, to refrain 
your railways and 
occupy the fortified 

" ' There is,' re- 
Minister' at once, ' a 
arriving at the only 
demand could ad- 
that France had 
invitation to us and 
it. Would not 
that we had been 
ly betrayal ? ' 

tary of State did 
very pertinent ques- 
pursued : 

he asked, ' have you 
proach us with ? 



spoken 



few words 




filled alTthe^ubes BAR0N BEYENS, Belgian Envoy Extraordinary and Minister 



had only 
claimed : 

it is with the utmost grief that Ger- 

neutrality of Belgium, and personally I 

But what could you expect ? It is a 

Empire. If the German armies do not 

hammer and the anvil they must strike 

then to turn back again against Russia.' 

' the frontiers of France are suffici- 

to avoid passing through Belgium.' 

fied. Besides, what is it that we are asking 

to allow us free 

from destroying 

tunnels, and to let us 

places that we need. ' 

plied the Belgian 

very easy way of 

reply of which this 

mit. It is to suppose 

addressed the same 

we had acceded to 

Germany have said 

guilty of a coward- 

" The Secre- 
not answer this 
tion. Baron Beyens 

" ' At any rate,' 
anything to re- 
Have we not always, 
of 



Plenipotentiary in Germany. 



century, ful 
■< ,ui.'ur,.;i i,, I.,,., ,ji;i.,i V ot oui neutrality to- 
wards Get many as *■ J y towards all the other 
Great Powers who guaranteed it ? Have we not given Germany evidence of loyal friendship ? What 
return does Germany propose to make for that ? To make Belgium the battle-field of Europe and we 

know what devastation and disaster modern war hrincrs in itc t.-i,'n ' 



$ium has always been 



know what devastation and disaster modern war brings in its train 

'"Germany has nothing to reproach Belgium with and the altitude of 
perfectly correct.' 

"'You must recognise then,' replied Baron Beynes, 'that Belgium cannot give you any other 
reply than that which she has given without losing her honour. It is with nations as with 
individuals, and there is not one kind of honour for peoples and another for private folk You must 
recognise,' insisted Baron Beyens, ' that the reply could not have been other than that which has been 
given.' 

" '/ recognise it as a private individual, but as Secretary of State I have no view to express.'" 

Last interview of Baron Beyens with Herr von Jagow, 3rd August, according to the book of M. Waxweiler 
" Neutral and Loyal Belgium." ° »a*wcuM, 



( i5 ) 

GREAT BRITAIN, GUARDIAN OF THE SANCTITY OF 

TREATIES. 




SIR EDWARD GOSCHEN, British Ambassador in Germany. 

" I found the Chancellor very agitated. His Excellency at once began a harangue, which lasted 
for about twenty minutes. He said that the step taken by His Majesty's Government was terrible 
to a degree ; just for a word — " neutrality" a word which in war time had so often been 
disregarded — just for a scrap of paper Great Britain was going to make war on a kindred nation 
who desired nothing better than to be friends with her. All his efforts in that direction had been 
rendered useless by this last terrible step, and the policy to which, as I knew, he had devoted 
himself since his accession to office had tumbled down like a house of cards. What we had done 
was unthinkable ; it was like striking a man from behind while he was fighting for his life against 
two assailants. He held Great Britain responsible for all the terrible events that might happen. 
" I protested strongly against that statement, and said that, in the same way as he and Herr von Jaow 
wished me to understand that for strategical reasons it was a matter of life and death to Germany to 
advance through Belgium and violate the latter's neutrality, so I would wish him to understand that it 
was, so to speak, a matter of " life and death " for the honour of Great Britain that she should keep het 
solemn engagement to do her utmost to defend Belgium's neutrality if attacked. That solemn compact 
simply had to be kept, or what confidence could any one have in engagements given by Great 
Britain in the future ? " 

Extract from Sir E. Goschen's report telegraphed on 4th August, 1914, but not 
received by the Foreign Office, and re-written in London on 8th August. 



( i6 




M. JULES CAMBON, French Ambassador in Germany. 



( 17 ) 



GERMAN PREMEDITATION. 

" I have received from an absolutely reliable source an account of a conversation which took 
place a fortnight ago between the Emperor and the King of the Belgians, in the presence of the Chief 
of the General Staff — General von Moltke. This conversation, it appears, has made a profound 
impression on King Albert:. I am in no way surprised at the impression he gathered, which 
corresponds with what I have myself felt for some time. Enmity against us is increasing, and the 
Emperor has ceased to be the friend of peace." 

Letters from M. Jules Cambon to the Minister for Foreign Affairs in France, 
dated 22nd November, 1913. 

" But in the next European war it will also be necessaiy that the small states should be forced to 
follow us or be subdued. In certain conditions their armies and their strong positions can be rapidly 
conquered or neutralised ; this would probably be the case with Belgium and Holland. 

" . . . . This will be a vital question for us, and our aim must be to take the offensive with a 
large superiority from the first days. For this purpose it will be necessary to concentrate a large 
army, followed up by strong Landwehr formations, which will induce the small states to follow us or 
at least to remain inactive in the theatre of operations, and which would crush them in the event of armed 
resistance. . . . 

" . . . . An ultimatum with a short time-limit, to be followed immediately by invasion, would 
allow a sufficient justification for our action in international law." 

Extract from a Secret official report on the strengthening of the German Army, 
dated Berlin, the 19th March, 1913, which came into the hands of the French 
Government from a trustworthy source. 

" France must be so crushed as never to be able to rise again to interfere with us." 
" This result must be secured at any cost, even at the cost of an European war." 
" The neutrality of Belgium will not stop us." 

General von Bernhardi : Warfare of to-day. 

" The plan for the invasion of France was thoroughly thought out a long time ago. It was 
necessary for its success that it should take place in the north by way of Belgium." 

Deutsche Kriege Zeitung, 2nd September, 1914. 



( i8 ) 



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Facsimile extract from a draft report of the Belgian Minister for War in 1906 relating to a private 
conversation between a Belgium officer of high rank and the British Military Attach6, regarding the 
possibility of a landing of British troops ?>i case o/ - $e violation of Belgian neutrality by Germany. 



( >9 ) 



TARDY AND FLIMSY EXCUSES. 

" Oberstleutnant Barnadiston machte mir Mitteilungen von den Besorgnissen des Generalstabs 
seines Landes hinsichtlich dea allgemeinen politischen Lage und wegen der Moglichkeit eines 
alsbaldigen Kriegsausbruches. Eine Truppensendung von im garizen ungefahr 100,000 Mann sei 
fur den Fall vorgesehen, dass Belgien angegriffen wiirde." 

" Barnardiston fuhr fort : Die Landung des englischen Truppen werde an der franzosischen 
Kiiste stattfinden, in der Gegend von Diinkirchen und Calais, und zwar wiirden die Truppenbewegungen 
moglichst beschleunigt werden. Eixe Landung in Antwerpen wiirde viel mehr Zeit erfordern, 
weil man grossere Truppentransporte brauche und andererseits die Sicherheit weniger gross sei." 

" Nachdem Barnardiston seine voile Genugtung iiber meine Erklarungen ausges-prochen hatte, 
betonte er : 1, dass wiser Abkommen absoliit vertraulich sein solite ; 2. dass es seine Regierung nicht 
binden solite ; 3. dass sein Gesandter, der englische Generalstab und er nnd ich iiber die Angeegenheit 
unterrichtet seien und 4. dass er nicht wisse, ob man die Meinung seines Souverans vorher eingeholt 
habe." 

"Abgeschlossen, September 1906." 



German translation of the text opposite by the Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, of the 13th October, 
1 914. In this translation there are three alterations of the text : 

(1) Omission of the sentence "the entry of the English into Belgium would only take 
place after the violation of our neutrality by Germany." This sentence, which forms an 
integral part of the text, is reproduced in French by the German translator after the 
translation, as if it were a note independent of the text. 

(2) Alteration of the word " conversation " into " convention" (abkommen). 

(3) Alteration of the date "end of September 1906" into the expression "■concluded 
September 1906 " (abgeschlossen). 

This garbled version has been spread broadcast and served as a basis for the Dutch version 
published at the Hague (R, W. E. Wijnmalen 1914) and the English version for America, 



5183 B 2 



( 20 ) 



Deutsche 



Kriegszeitung 



1. — Namur, am 24 August 
von den Deutschen genommen. 



Veroffentlichungen des 
deutschen Gouvernements. 

Berlin, 5. Sept. Bei dor Wegnahme des hoeh 
in Felsen gelegenen Speirlorls Givel haben, 
ehensu wie in Nannie, die von Oeslcrrek'h zuge- 
sandien schweren Molorballerien sich durcli ihre 
Betteglicbkeil, Trell'sicherheil und Wirkunji vnr- 
trefllieh bewaehl; sie haben uns misgezeichnele 
Dienste geleistel. Die Sperrbelcsligungen Girson, 
Ayvelles, Foride und Lafece haben wir ohne 
Kampl genommen. Damil l>elinden sich saml- 
liehe Speri'helesligungen ini noerdlichen Frank- 
reich, ausser der Feslung Maubeuge, in unseren 
Handen. 

Gegen Reims isLder AngrilT eingeleitel. Die 
Kavallerie-Armee d«s (jeneralnbersien von 
kluck slreifl bis Paris. Das Weslheer uher- 
selnill die Aisnelinie. Inrlgeselzl wird der Vor- 
marseh gegen die Marne, einzelne Yorhulen 
erreiehen sie hereils. 

Oer Feind befindel sich vor den Armeen der 
Generaloberslen von Kluck. Billow, Hansen und 
des ilerzogs von Wurtiemberg ini Ruckzug. 
Aul und Itinler der Marne, vor der Armee des 
deulscben Kronprinzen leLstele er in) Anschluss 
an Verdun Widersland, wurde aber sudwarts 
zuriickgeworlen. 

Die Armeen des Kronprinzen von Bayern und 
des Generaloliersten von lleeringen haben 
immer noch einen slarken Feind in befesliglen 
Slellungen im Iranzosischen Lolhringen gegen- 
liber. 

Im ubern Elsass slreifen deulsche und franz^)- 
sisclie Ableilungen unler gegenseiligeii Kampfen. 

Im Oslen erolen die Truppen des General- 
olierslen Hindenburg weitere Friichle des Sieges. 
Die Zalil der Gelangenen wiicbsi liiglich und slice 
bcreils aul neunziglausend. Wie viel Geschulze 
unil snnslige Siegeszeichen nnch in den Waldern 
unil Siimplen sleeken, liissl sicli noch niclil liber- 
sullen. Auscbeineiid sind drei russische kom- 
inaiidierciide Generaele gelangen. Der russische 
\riueeliihrer soil nach russiscben Nacbrichten 
gel'allen sein. 



Nouvelles officielles 
de la guerre 

I. — Namur a ete pris par 
les AJlemands, le 24 aoiH. 



Nouvelles publtees par le 
Gouvernement allemand. 

Berlin, •> seplembre. Lore tie la prise des 
lorls <i*arrel siturs sur les hauleurs rocheuses 
de Givcl, loul com me a iNamur, les lourdes 
naileries a moleurs envoyees par I'Autriche se 
sontdistingueespar leur agilite, par la precision 
de leur lir el par leur efficaeiie. Llles nous 
onl rendu d excel lenls services. INous avons 
pris les forts d'arr£t de Girson. d Ayvelles, 
de Fonde el de Lafere. Ainsi lous les forts 
d arret du nord de la France, sauf la place forte 
de Rflaubeuge, se trouvent en nos mains. 

L'attaque contre Reims est preparee. 
L armee de cavalerie du colonel general von 
Kluck potisse ses marches jusque devaul Paris, 
L'annee de I'ouest a passe lajigne de I'Aisno, 
la marche vers la Marne continue; cerlames 
avant-gardes Font deja alteinte. 

L'ennemi est en relraile devant les armees 
des colonels generaux Kluck, BO low el du due 
de Wurtiemberg. Sur el derriere la Marne, 
devanl l'annee du Kronprinz allemand, il a 
resiste s'appuyanl sur Verdun, mars il a ele 
re j etc vers le Sud. 

Les armees du prince heritiep de Baviere et 
du colonel general von Heeriogen se iruuvent 
loujours en face d'uo enneini fori el protege 
par des positions forlifiees de la Lorraine fran- 
caise. 

Dans la Haute-Alsace.destroupes illcmondes 
et franchises bataillenl continuellcmeni en 
palrouillanl. 

A i'Lst, les troupes du colonel general Hinden- 
burg recoltenl de nouveaux Iruiis de leur 
victoire. Le nombre des prisonniers russes aug- 
menie quoiidiennement el a deja atleinl le 
chiflre de 90,000. On ne peul pas encore precise r 
le chiflre des canons pris, de nombreux canons 
s'clanl enfonces dans les marais e( dans les lorets 
II parail que ir^s generaux commandant des 
corps d'armee soul parmi les prisonniers Le 
genera lissime russe serait, d'apres des rensei- 
gnements russes, mort. 



Duitsch officieel 

krijgsnieuws 

1.— Namen werd op 24 \u- 
gustus door de Duitschers 
ingenomen. 



Mededeelingen van het 
duitscbe Gouvernement. 

Berlijn. 7, September. Bij de wegneming van 
bet hoog op de rolsen liggende afsluitingslort 
Givel hebben, zooals le Nnmen, de /.ware motor- 
ballerijen zich door hunno beweegbaarheid t lref- 
zekerheid en uitwerking voortrelTelijk beproefd; 
zij hebben ons uilstekenrie diensten bewezen.De 
alsluilingsveslingen Girson, Ayvelles, Fonde en 
Latere hebben wij zonder slrijd genomen. Daar- 
mede bevinden z.ich alle alsluilingsvestingen in 
'l no<j>rdelijke Frankrijk, uitgenomen de vesting 
Kaubeuge, ui onze handen. 

Tegen Reims is de aanval in *l werk gezel. Het 
kavallerie-leger van den generaaloversle von 
Kluck slroopl to! voor Parijs 

Het leger in "I wesle.n heeli de Aisne-linie 
overschreden , de vnormnrsch legen de Marne 
word! voorlgezei. enkele voorhoeden bereiken 
ze reeds. 

De vijand bevindl zich voor de legers der 
generaaloversien von kluck. Billow, Hansen en 
herlog van Wurtiemberg op den lerugLochl. Op 
en achter de Marne, voor het leger van den 
dui(5chen Kroonprins, leverde bij in annsluiling 
aan Verdun wedecstand, loch werd hij zuid- 
waarts leruggeworpen 

De legers van den Kroonprins van Beieren 
en van den generaaloversle von lleeringen 
stean nog altijd legenover eenen slerken vijand 
in bevesligde posilien in 't Iransche Lotnaringen 

In Opper-Elzass slroopen duilsche en Iransche 
aldeelingen onder uederzijdsche pevechten. 

In 't Ooslen oogslen de troepen van den gene- 
raaloversle Hindenburc; de vruchten der over- 
winning. 

Het getal der gevangenen groeil dagelijks en 
sleeg reeds op 90,000 man Hoeveel kanonnen 
en ander materiaal zich nop in de wouden en 
inoerassen l>evinden, laat zich nog niel overzien. 
Waarschijul'jk zijn drie russische kommandee- 
deerende gencrawls gevangen [>e russische 
legeraanvoerder zj! volgens russische lijdingen 
gevallen zijn 



War News placarded at Brussels by the German Military [Staff. 

1. The fall of Namur. 

2. Admission of the presence of Austrians before Namur. 



( 21 ) 



AUSTRIA-HUNGARY WAS MORE ANXIOUS TO SUPPORT 
GERMAN FORCE THAN TO RESPECT INTERNATIONAL 
LAW. 

" The Hague, 

" August 28, 1914. 

" On the instructions of my Government, I have the honour to inform your Excellency as follows : — 
Whereas Belgium, having refused to accept the proposals made to her on several occasions by 
Germany, is affording .her military assistance to France and Great Britain, both of which Powers have 
declared war upon Austria- Hungary, and whereas as has just been proved, Austrian and Hungarian 
nationals in Belgium have had to submit, under the very eyes of the Belgian authorities, to treatment 
contrary to the most primitive demands of humanity and inadmissible even towards subjects of an 
enemy State, therefore Austria finds herself obliged to break off diplomatic relations and considers 
herself from this moment in a state of war with 'Belgium. I am leaving the country with the staff of 
the legation and I am entrusting the protection of Austrian interests to the United States Minister in 
Belgium. The Austro-Hungarian Government are forwarding his passports to Count Errembault de 
Dudzeele." 

CLARY. 

Declaration of war from Austria to Belgium (telegram addressed by Count Clary, 
Austro-Hungarian Minister, to M. Davignon) four days after the fall of Namur, 



" Antwerp, 

" August 29, 1914. 

'■ Belgium has always entertained friendly relations with all her neighbours without distinction. 
She has scrupulously fulfilled the duties imposed upon her by her neutrality. If she has not been able 
to accept Germany's proposals, it is because those proposals contemplated the violation of her 
engagements toward Europe, engagements which form the conditions of the creation of the Belgian 
Kingdom. She has been unable to admit that a people, however weak they may be, should fail in their 
duty and sacrifice their honour by yielding to force. The Government have waited, not only until the 
ultimatum had expired, but also until Belgian territory had been violated by German troops, before 
appealing to France and Great Britain, guarantors of her neutrality, under the same terms as are 
Germany and Austria-Hungary, to co-operate in the name and in virtue of the treaties in defence of 
Belgian territory. By repelling the invaders by force of arms, she has not even committed an hostile 
act as laid down by the provisions of Article 10 of the Hague Convention respecting the rights and 
duties ot neutral Powers. 

" Germany herself has recognised that her attack constitutes a violation of international law, and : 
being unable to justify it, she has pleaded her strategical interests. 

" Belgium formally denies the allegation that Austrian and Hungarian nationals have suffered 
treatment in Belgium contrary to the most primitive demands of humanity. 

" The Belgian Government, from the very commencement of hostilities, have issued the strictest 
orders for the protection of Austro-Hungarian persons and property.'' 

DAVIGNON. 

The reply of the Belgian Government. 



( 22 




Motor ears equipped with mortars lent by Austria to Germany for an attack on the fortifications of 
Namur, Maubeuge and Antwerp. These formidable engines of destruction remained some time at 
Brussels. They are here shown at the infantry barracks with the Austrian officers and men entrusted 
with the working of them. 

" Our batteries of motors equipped with mortars, coming from various directions, were concentrated 
at Cologne on August 15th. It was there, on the night of the 15th to 16th, that I received the order 
to proceed. We were directed first to Verviers and halted there. On August 21st we left Verviers for 
Namur where our activities commenced. Two hours after, at one o'clock in the day, the first fort of 
Namur, Cognelle, fell ; the second followed an hour later. A mortar of 30 cm. 5 had been in action 
against the Cognelle fort, two of 45 cm. against the other. By August 24th Namur was in our hands 
The 27th saw us on the way to Maubeuge, and on the 29th we were there in position, with only half 
our batteries, however, since the remainder were approaching Givet." 

Statement of the Austrian Colonel Albert Langer, to the Neue Frcie Pressc of Vienna (18th February 
1915), reporting the co-operation of Austria in the war against Belgium as early as August 16th 
12 days before the rupture of the diplomatic relations between the Austro-Hungarian and Belgian 



Governments. 



( 2 3 ) 



BELGIUM BEFORE THE INVASION. 



" The Belgium population is of a peaceful temperament ; its demeanour is one of calm and it 
has great practical sense. The Civil Authorities had warned it at the beginning of the War to 
maintain the attitude of self-possession demanded by the circumstances. . . . The religious 
authorities had spoken in the same sense as the civil rulers." 

Jules Van den Heuvel, Minister of State, Minister of Belgium at the Vatican. 



( 2 4 



AUX HABITANTS 

DU 

PAYS DE LIEGE 



La grande Allemagne envahit noire territoire apres 
un ultimatum qui conslilue on outrage. 

La petite Belgique a releve Gerement le gant. 

L'armee va faire son devoir ! 

La population du pays de Liege accomplira le sien ! 

Aussi ne cessera-t-elle de donner lexemple du calme 
et du respect aux lois. 

Son ardent palriolismc en repond. 

Vive le Roi. commandant en chef de l'armee ! 

Vive la Belgique ! 



Liege, le 4 AoOt 1914. 



LEMAN. 



Translations. 



TO THE INHABITANTS OF 
THE DISTRICT OF LIEGE. 

Powerful Germany invades our territory 
after an ultimatum which is tantamount to an 
outrage. Little Belgium has proudly picked 
up the gauntlet. 

The Army will do its duty ! 

The population of Liege will also fulfil 
theirs ! 

They will not cease to give an example of 
calm and respect for law. 

Their fervent patriotism is a guarantee of 
this. 

Long live the King ! Commander and 
General of the Army. 

Long live Belgium ! 

Leman, Military Lieutenant, 
Governor of Liege. 

Liege, 4th August, 1914- 



VILLE DE LIEGE 



tE BOURGMESTRE A SES CONCITOYENS. 

- de M. le Ministre tie rinteneiir. et qui regie les droit* el ies devoirs, de* hahilanU 
d occupation etranpere 

■ ira erentuellement de guide si le maJbeur vuuUnl que notre vflle Kit own pee , 
mee envabissaote. 

G. KLEYEK 



TOWN OF LIEGE. 

Liege, 5th August, 1914. 

The Burgomaster to his fellow citizens. 

I consider that it is fitting to communicate 
to you herewith the text of a circular that I 
have just received from the Minister of the 
Interior in which he lays down the rights 
and duties of the inhabitants in case of a 
foreign occupation. 

I call your earnest attention to the instruc- 
tions contained in this circular which will 
serve as a guide for your conduct in case our 
town is unfortunately occupied by the in- 
vading Army. 

Burgomaster G. Kleyer. 



I. Proclamation by the Military Governor of Liege to inhabitants of the town and environs. 

II. Communication by the Burgomaster of Liege to his fellow citizens. 



( 25 ) 



Qouvernement Provincial de Nam 

lis tres ir 



Le Gouverneur civil attire la tres serieuse 
attention des habitants de la province sur 1c 
tres grave danger qui pourrait resulter pour 
tes civils de se servir d'armcs contre l'ennemi. 

Its doivent. a cet egard. observer, comme il 
convient du reste. 1'abstention la plus complete. 

C'est a la lorce publique seule qu'il appartient 
de defendre le territoire. 

Toute inobservation de cette recomman- 
dation serait de nature a provoquer. le cas 
echeant. des represailles. des incendies. etc. 

Namur. le 7 aout 1<314 

Baron de Montpellie. 



MICHEL. 



AVIS 

— =>3®<XBS«= K — 

Taus delen'.^urs d'amirs ali-u (lusils. carabines, re»o!- 
vers), parliculicrs i'l noj;nrhii!is. sont ienu> ubligaloircmfnt 
d'eo (aire remise a I lintel ilc \ille, au plus lard Luudi 17 
courant. de 10 heures a midi. 



Les arraes deposees dei r» 
laire. II sera delhre rcrepi> 



i porlerladresscdu proprie- 
■du depiil- 



Fleurus, le U Aoi'il I9U. 



IV EVERAERTS. 



Translations. 

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT OF NAMUR. 

VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE. 

The civil Governor calls ihe very earnest attention 
of the inhabitants of the province to the grave danger 
in which civilians might be placed in case they should 
take up arms against the enemy. 

In this matter it is most essential that they should 
observe a complete self-restraint. 

The defence of the territory is the duty of the public 
forces alone. 

Any disregard of this appeal might have the effect 
of provoking reprisals, such as the burning of build- 
ings, &c. 

Baron de Montpellier. 
Seen and approved. 
Namur, 7th August, 1914. 

The Military Governor 
MICHEL. 

7th August, 1914. 



NOTICE. 

Any one in possession of firearms (such as guns, 
rifles, or revolvers), whether in their private capacity 
or as dealers, are hereby ordered to deposit them at 
the Hotel cle Ville not later than Monday, the 17th 
instant, between 10 o'clock and noon. 

The arms deposited must bear the address of the 

owner. A receipt .will be given for the arms deposited. 

The Minister for the Interior recommends civilians 

in case the enemy should show himself in that district : 

Not to fight ; 

To give expression to no insulting or threatening 

words ; 
To remain within their houses and close the 
windows, so that it will be impossible to 
allege that there was any provocation ; 
To evacuate any house or isolated hamlet which 
the soldiers may occupy in order to defend 
themselves, so that it cannot be alleged that 
civilians have fired ; 
An act of violence committed by a single civilian 
would be actually a crime for which the law 
provides arrest and punishment. It is all the 
more reprehensible in that it might serve as 
a pretext for measures of oppression resulting 
in bloodshed or pillage, the massacre of the 
innocent population, with the women and 
children. 
Fleurus, 14th August, 1914. 

The Burgomaster, 

Dr. EVERAERTS 



Examples of proclamations issued by the provincial and communal authorities ; 

(1) The Governor of the Province of Namur. 

(2) The Burgomaster of Fleurus. 



( 26 ) 




General Leman 

OcftMotMtfLiiac 



<*L(XA 



Ci^'- OJJ^J lUSfl 'jj $ , 



Lieutenant-General LEMAN, Commanding the fortified position of Liege. 
(See p. 28). 



( 2 7 ) 

HOW THE CIVIL POPULATION WAS PREPARED TO 
RECEIVE THE ENEMY. 

" The threat of foreign invasion must cause trouble and emotion among the people. The first 
duty of Communal officials must be to warn those over whom they exercise authority of their duties 
towards their country, and of the attitude which they must adopt towards the invading army. For 
that reason the present circular is issued. 

" According to the Laws of War, armed action— that is to say, resistance to or attack on the 
enemy, the use of weapons against isolated soldiers of the hostile army, or direct intervention in 
combats and skirmishes— is never permitted to men who are not embodied in either (i) the Regular 
Army, (2) the Civic Guard, or (3) Bodies of Volunteers observing military law, subject to a responsible 
officer, and wearing a distinctive badge. 

" Only such persons are authorised to engage in hostilities and are styled belligerents ; when they 
are captured or lay down their arms they are entitled to be treated as prisoners of war. 

" If the population of a region not yet occupied by the enemy takes arms spontaneously at the 
approach of the invader, but has not the time to organize itself in military fashion, it will be considered 
belligerent if it openly carries arms and observes the Laws of War. 

" But isolated individals, belonging to none of the categories stated above, who may engage in 
acts of hostility, would not be considered as belligerents. If captured they would certainly have 
worse treatment than prisoners of war, and might even be put to death. 

" Acts forbidden to soldiers arc of course still more inadmissible to civilians— such as the use of 
poison or poisoned weapons, the killing or wounding by treachery of persons, military or civil, 
belonging to the hostile nation, the killing or wounding of enemies who have laid down their arms, 
who can no longer defend themselves, and have surrendered at discretion." 

Extract from the circular addressed at the beginning of hostilities on the 
4th August, 1914, by the minister of the Interior, M. Berryer, to the 2,700 
communes of Belgium. The Governors and Burgomasters saw that these 
instructions were posted everywhere. 

"TO CIVILIANS. 

" The minister of the Interior recommends civilians in case the enemy should 
show himself in that district : 

" Not to fight ; 

" To give expression to no insulting- or threatening words ; 

" To remain within their houses and close the windows, so that it will be 
impossible to allege that there was any provocation ; 

" To evacuate any houses or isolated hamlet which the soldiers may occupy 
in order to defend themselves, so that it cannot be alleged that civilians have 
fired ; 

" An act of violence committed by a single civilian would be actually a crime 
for which the law provides arrest and punishment. It is all the more repre- 
hensible in that it might serve as a pretext for measures of oppression, resulting 
in bloodshed or pillage, the massacre of the innocent population with the women 

and children." 

Every Belgian newspaper published on each day the above notice on its first 
page in large print. 



C 28 ) 



THE HONOUR OF THE BELGIAN ARMY. 

" Sire, 

" After several battles had been fought with great bravery on the 4th, 5th and 6th of August by the 
3rd Division of the Army reinforced from the 5th by the 15th Brigade, I considered that the forts of Liege 
could no longer serve as more than a temporary obstacle to the advance of the enemy. I nevertheless 
maintained the military government of the place in order that I might organise its defence as far as 
was possible for me, and for the sake of the moral effect on the garrisons of the forts. 

" That my decision was well founded was proved by the grave events that followed. 

'' Your Majesty is aware that I took up my position in the fort of Loncin on the 
6th August towards noon. 



" Sire, 

" You will be grieved to learn that this fort was blown up about 5.20, burying in its ruins the 
greater part of the Garrison, perhaps four-fifths. 

" I should have lost my life in this catastrophe had it not been that my escort, composed of 
Commander Captain Collard, a non-commissioned Infantry Officer, who has no doubt perished, 
gendarme Thevenin and my two orderlies (Ch. Vandenbossche and Jos. Lecocq), removed me from a 
part of the fort where I was in danger of asphyxiation by the fumes of the explosion. I was 
carried into the trench, where 1 fell. A German Captain of the name of Griison gave me some water 
to drink, but I was made a prisoner and then taken to Liege in an ambulance. 

" I am confident of having upheld the honour of our arms. I surrendered neither the fortress nor 
the forts. 

" I trust, Sire, that yon will be pleased to pardon the shortcomings of this letter ; I am physically 
much prostrated by the explosion at Loncin. In Germany, where I am about to be taken, my thoughts 
will be, as they have ever been, of Belgium and her King. I would willingly have given my life in their 
service, but death has passed me by. 

" Lieutenant-General, 

" (Sd.) G. LEMAN." 



" In the name of the nation I greet you, officers and soldiers of the third division and fifteenth 
mixed brigade. You have all done your duty, you have upheld the honour of our army and you have 
shown the enemy what it costs unjustly to attack a peaceable people, which finds invincible strength in 
its righteous cause. The country may well be proud of you." 

Extract from King Albert's message to the army after the fall of Liege. 



( 2 9 ) 





4lfc ^ 



M.Adolphe Max 

BtfHSomatx ae 3mssti.t 



jOn ojl 



Id, 



M ADOLPHE MAX, Burgomaster of the City of Brussels, imprisoned by order 
of the German Military Governor, on 26th September 1914, detained in a fortress 
without ever having bean tried. 
"As long as I live and retain my liberty / will protect with all my power the rights and the dignity of 
my fellow citizens." ^^ ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^.^ the day brfore the entry nf 

the German Troops, 19th August, 1914. 



( 30 ) 

A BURGOMASTER ANXIOUS FOR THE NATIONAL DIGNITY 
AND INTERNAL ORDER. 



VTLLB DB RRUXELLKS 



GEES filIU 



I'ii avis, nfilrt^ aupjunl'hnl. no 
Dmpeeit Ih-Icc nrb«r.i aux f.n;inlo> <1 
cunsJdiW cutiiiue ejjw « prmuuiiiu 
QllcmaDd-Ki. 



|wir h\> Innapos 



U> FHd-KS&rdchal vondur (.old duns sn.nntrlnuu.iiun 
du H sopleiiibrv dlsah puurtmil - ur dornMtdtnr A |ht- 
snnne dc reiitersos scEillnmtt.s |niirWi.|u«\s ■>, Ni«i> no 
InhivIchu donrprtWolrque.uillnnisliundp «f* scull meeds 
serait icaus pour uisc uiTanso, 

Lfltlldii? qui itmts lo rrveta a iHt*. |n |p rrcnnuak 
rftrfttfc eo lenues m«9ui\Vs el avcc lr soud de mcHMgor 

cos su -c. ;ii!l'il.'..V 

EI)o n'eii blessora |hu nialns d'unr titimlrre prnlomh*. 
Cantonta ci llcrfl pollution tie HniAelles. 

Jo decuando a ccUp (topulallou do di.nnrr uu ikhivi'I 
cxruiple du suiijj-trold el ile la nnindt*ur d mm- duul rib 
a f.nimi deja lant de preuvcs en ct -s pmrs duutuumix. 

AoceploDs provl&tiremrnl k> swrifliv i|ul ihhis csi 
Imprest, n'lirons nos dni|n"'inix |H>ur c\ Hit dcs iitnlllLs, i* 
Btlendon* piitft'iumi'iii Ibourr de ... r^ptimUuit. 

Bruxelles, lr 16 seplembro IV14. 

Lr Boitrymextrv, 
ADOLPHE MAX. 



RSS! - l^pifnpUi S l.^r-i-t- E 



?I'AH URTT8SKL 



HEHU. 

I i ii hrrirhl lu-ili'ii ;uiii>t.'|.l«kl.'i.'rii.'im'n »ij illll 

ill- Ih'liiiM'hr lbs. iiii .lr ni-u-l, mi/.i- Iimi/i n |.rijkl. 

llmir ill' OlitM'kr lli»'|«ll ills will- . iiililii K lii K • ttunll 
bcsrhmiwil 

Vi-lilinmirsiliiilk mim ilrr linllr. In »Uiir |inn'liuiu)lh' 
Mm i V|i|i'iiiIhi'. hi iimliliili- i < 111 \nin« iiiiii iiliiiiiilnl 
tljiir luilri.illM'lii' hi'Mh'Iikim lr iillln'KKi'll •. \V(| kinnli'll 
■lil-s lili'l mhii-mi-ii ilal mill nil Immllipli ili-zi-r ki-\|k'Ii-iw 
■in Ih'IiiiIIki'iiiI knriikli-r /mi Imiti'lrml Kiinlrn. 

Hi- |ilnklirirf umirlilj nlj mlki M-nir u. Is. ft In-Kin 

in-l. lillKI-Slrill ill KI'IIUllllllli- XWHirill'll I'll IUII1I1T hi'! 

Iiiiiilii in nun- gi-MM-li-iks ii- vmM, i, kn-nki-ii. 

/Ii nil iiji'lli-nilii ill- iiirinr ill lli-n- lo'inlkliv van 
HriiNM-l ilii'|. kwi'Lvii. 

Ik tnillll ilili' U'MilklllK H'llllii'liw IhmI|> l.'«i'%rll 

Mill ilr kiH-IMiH-illKlii-iil I'll ill- KnuilmiHilliilii'lil wiuiruill 
ll| naiMvl lilljkcn lui-ll m'Bi'M'll In ili-u- llrm'U' lljill-ll. 

Lml mis viHirliHi|il|i In-l tifli-r illll mis n|i«cli-|.il wiinll 
\ullin<iiKi'ii i him hiimIi' \lnwii liiin-kkrii iiiii IhiIsIiikiiii 
Ii- MKirkimi ii luni un.MiH'l iiiilulil lu-i uiir ili-r vois 

Kimlillg iilum-liU'ii 

Bruwl. ill n III' V|JiiiiI)it IUI4. 

De tturgrnurslfr, 

Adolf MAX. 



Lc Gouverncur Allemsnd do 
la Villo de Liege. Lieutenant-Gene- 
ral von Kolewe, a fait allicher bier 
I avis suivant 1 

At/* Imhilinil* ili'ltt \illi- tlr IJv~ ll-Il lintM' mirll ki 



in AVIS 



l'iui|Mi..iliilili. Jt 



ilinM\\iilriBi'ii\irli.i 



i.p-mli.-iTi. Ki IK-Iiiiil.i i e „ n ,.,„l,e .la 




.]' Ii in rliprnvnllrp Hull in i'iin'1' FifilllHR. 



ili'leillH.n li"»..r.ilil.' .I.iii- I 



J oppose a cette affirmation le WtapHaUftpifiniin-nn 
dementi le plus (ormeL 



lr «»iiih.~ 

Adolpbe MAX. 



Per Ilil'irif-Cmtrcnwur 

Freiherr von LDTTWITZ. 



Lr Courminir HiliUirt. 

Baxoo von LUTTWITZ, 



The Belgian Communal Authorities attempted everywhere to lessen the humiliation to which the 
population was subjected by the orders and requisitions of the occupying power. Nowhere were such 
untiring pains taken to this end as at Brussels. Burgomaster Max, by his tact and patriotism, found a 
means of inducing his fellow citizens to carry out measures which were deeply wounding to their 
sentiment of national dignity. 

Above is a proclamation addressed by him to the population of Brussels in consequence of the order 
issued by the Military Governor of the town for the removal of the Belgian Flags. Next day this 
proclamation was covered over with white paper, and 10 days later M. Max was carried away prisoner to 
Germany. 



( 3i ) 



Translations. 



CITY OF BRUSSELS. 



Beloved Fellow Citizens : — 



A notice posted to-day informs us that the Belgian Flag which flies from the front of our 
houses is looked upon as a " provocation " by the German Troops. 

Field Marshal von der Goltz said, however, in his proclamation of 2nd September, that "nobody 
would be required to abjure his patriotic feelings." Thus we could not foresee that to show these 
feelings would be regarded as a crime. 

The proclamation which informs us that it is so is, I acknowledge, drawn up in moderate terms 
and with a regard for our susceptibilities. 

It will none the less be deeply wounding to the sensitive and proud population of Brussels. 

I ask the population of this town to give a fresh example of the self-restraint and greatness of 
soul which it has already so often exhibited during these sad days. 

Let us provisionally accept the sacrifice which is imposed upon us ; let us withdraw our flags in 
order to prevent any friction, and patiently await the hour of redress. 

Brussels, 16th September. 1914. 

Burgomaster, ADOLPHE MAX. 



CITY OF BRUSSELS. 

The German Governor of the Town of Li^ge, 
Lieut.-General von Kolewe, caused the following 
notice to be posted yesterday : — 

" To the inhabitants of the Town of Liege. 

" The Burgomaster of Brussels has informed 
the German Commander that the French 
Government has declared to the Belgian 
Government the impossibility of giving them 
any offensive assistance whatever, seeing that 
they themselves are forced to adopt the 
defensive." 

I absolutely deny this assertion. 

Adolphe Max, 

Burgomaster. 



NOTICE. 

Burgomaster Max, having failed to fulfil the 
engagements entered into with the German 
Government, I am forced to suspend him from 
his position. M. Max will find himself under 
honourable detention in a fortress. 

Brussels, the 26 Sept., 1914. 

Baron von Luttwitz, 

General, 
Military Governor, 



( 32 ) 




HIS EMINENCE CARDINAL MERCIER, Archbishop of Malines, Primate of Belgium, 
President of the Royal Academy of Belgium. 

" The servant is not above his lord." Text of St. Matthew, quoted by the Cardinal in his Pastoral Letter at Christinas. 
All the copies of this letter were seized with a view to their destruction by the German Military Authorities. The venerable 
Archbishop was imprisoned in his Palace and forbidden to move about in his diocese or in the district under his 
jurisdiction. 



( 33 ) 



A GREAT BISHOP IN PRESENCE OF THE SUFFERINGS 

OF HIS PEOPLE. 



" From the outset of military operations the civil authorities of the country urged upon all private 
persons the necessity of abstention from hostile acts against the enemy's army. That instruction remains 
in force. 

" It is our army, and our army solely, in league with the valiant troops of our Allies, that has the 
honour and the duty of national defence. Let us entrust the army with our final deliverance. 

" Towards the persons of those who are holding dominion among us by military force, and who 
assuredly cannot but be sensible of the chivalrous energy with which we have defended, and are still 
defending, our independence, let us conduct ourselves with all needful forbearance. Some among 
them have declared themselves willing to mitigate, as far as possible, the severity of our situation and 
to help us to recover some minimum of regular civil life. Let us observe the rules they have laid upon 
us so long as those rules do not violate our personal liberty, nor our consciences as Christians, nor our 
duty to our country. Let us not take bravado for courage, nor tumult for bravery. 

" You especially, my dearest Brethren in the Priesthood, be you at once the best examples of 
Patriotism and the best supporters of public order. 

" On the field of battle you have been magnificent. The King and the Army admire the intre- 
pidity of our military chaplains in face of death, their charity at the work of the ambulance. Your 
Bishops are proud of you. 

" You have suffered greatly. You have endured much calumny. But be patient ; history will do 
you justice. I to-day bear my witness for you. 

" Wherever it has been possible / have questioned our people, our clergy, and particularly a 
considerable number of priests who had been deported to German prisons, but whom a principle of 
humanity, to which I gladly render homage, has since set at liberty. Well, / affirm upon my honour, 
and I am prepared to assert upon faith of my oath, that until now / have not met a single ecclesiastic, 
secular or regular, who had once incited civilians to bear arms against the enemy. All have loyally 
followed the instructions of their Bishops, given in the early days of August, to the effect that they 
were to use their moral influence over the civil population so that order might be preserved and 
military regulations observed. 

" I exhort you to persevere in this ministry of peace, which is for you the sanest form of 
Patriotism ; to accept with all your hearts the privations you have to endure ; to simplify still further, 
if it is possible, your way of life. One of you who is reduced by robbery aud pillage to a state 
bordering on total destitution, said to me lately, ' I am living now as I wish I had lived always.' " 

Extract from the second part of the Pastoral Letter of Cardinal Mercier, entitled 
Patriotism and Endurance. Such a teaching cannot but have greatly aided a 
strong and religious people to support with resignation and in silent hope the 
galling yoke of brute force. 



( 34 ) 




M. HENRY CARTON DE WIART, Belgian Minister of Justice. 



" In spite of the untold atrocities, in spite of murders, in spite of the burning and massacre of 
innocents, the loss of wealth and the destruction of so many works of beauty — for dead stones as well 
as living souls, have suffered martyrdom at the hands of the invader — though our towns have been 
devastated and our fields laid waste, though our families are in mourning and wandering among 
ruins or passing on their way to exile, who amongst all these sufferers would to-day exchange his loss 
for the gain of the robber ? " 

Speech delivered at the Hotel de Ville in Paris, 20th December, 1914. 



( 35 ) 



THE BELGIAN GOVERNMENT AS GUARDIAN OF 
INTERNATIONAL LAW. 

" Numerous violations of the rules of international law and of the duties of humanity have been 
committed by the Invaders. 

"They cannot remain without protest. They must be held up to the reprobation of the civilised 
world. 

" A Committee has now been formed with this object. 

"This Committee proposes to collect, classify and examine in the most careful and impartial 
manner possible, all the facts which may come to its knowledge. 

"The Civil and Military Authorities, as well as private persons, are invited to bring to its notice 
cases of violation of international law, and to furnish at the same time any circumstances which may 
serve as evidence thereof." (Moniteur Beige, August 8th, 1914O 

By the ministerial order, of which the above is the preamble, the Minister of Justice composed the 
Committee of Inquiry as follows : — 

President : M. van Iseghen, President of the Court of Cassation. 

Members : MM. Cattier, Professor of the University of Brussels ; Nys, Judge of the Court of Appeal, 
Professor of public international law at the University of Brussels ; Verhaegen, Judge of the Court of 
Appeal at Brussels ; Wodon, Professor at the University of Brussels. 

Secretary : M. Gillard, Director of the Ministry of Justice. 

When the Government removed to Antwerp, the Committee was formed as follows :— 

(Moniteur Beige, 23rd August, 1914.) 
President: M. Cooreman, Minister of State. 

Members : Count Goblet d'Alviella, vice-president of the Senate ; MM. Ryckmans, Senator ; Strauss, 
Sheriff of Antwerp ; Van Cutsem, President of the Tribunal. 

Secretaries : Chevalier Ernst de Bunswyck and M. Orts, Councillor of Legation. 

Finally, at the time of the siege of Antwerp, delegates were instructed at London to examine on 
behalf of the Committee the refugees from the invaded district under the presidency of Sir Mackenzie 
Chalmers^orwzerfy Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department. MM. de Cartier de Marchienne, 
Belgian Minister in China, and Henri Lafontaine, Senator, were appointed members of the Committee, 
and M. Henri Davignon, Secretary. 

The neutral powers were approached as to whether they would consent to appoint representatives 
to sit on the Committee, but, influenced by scruples arising from their neutrality, they preferred to 
abstain from doing so. 

The committee of inquiry drew up 12 reports. The depositions will be given to the public as soon 
as the names can be made known without danger to the witnesses. No denial of a definite character 
or supported by any evidence has up to now been made of the findings of the Committee. 



( 3 6 ) 




Photograph by Lafayette, Dublin (reproduced by permission). 

VISCOUNT BRYCE, President of the Committee, appointed by the British Government to report 
upon 1,300 depositions made by Belgian Refugees. 

« Sensible as they are of the gravity of these conclusions, the Committee conceive that they would 
be doing less than heir duty if hey failed to record them as fully established by the evidence 
Murder, lust and pillage prevailed over many parts of Belgium on a scale unparalleled in any war" 
between civilised nations during the last three centuries." 

Extract from the Committee's report. 



( 37 ) 



GERMANY'S DISREGARD OF THE RULES 

OF WAR. 



" It is not true that the life or property of a single Belgian citizen has been touched by our soldiers 
except when the bitterest necessity for self-defence rendered it unavoidable. . . . 

" It is not true that our troops raged like brutes against Louvain. . . . 

" It is not true that our war staff despises the rights of peoples. It knows nothing of undisciplined 
cruelty. . . ." 

Manifesto by 93 German Savants, Artists and Professors. 



( 38 ) 









Wound caused by an expanding bullet. 



( 39 ) 

HONOUR IN WAR: FORBIDDEN PROJECTILES. 

" Besides the prohibitions provided by special conventions, it is especially forbidden : 

" (e) To employ arms, projectiles or material of a nature to cause superfluous injury." 
Article 23 of the Hague Rules of War. 

" Gand, 26th September, 1914. 
" To the Minister of War. 

" I have the honour to send you herewith some cartridges fitted with the so-called ' dum-dum 
bullets,' taken on the person of the Hanoverian Obcrleutnant Von Hadclir, made prisoner by my troops 
at Ninove on the 26th of this month. His pistol, which he threw away just before he was taken, 
could not be recovered. 

" (Signed) L. CLOETE, 
" Lieutenant-General and Governor of Gand." 

Seizure of dum-dum bullets on a German Officer. 

" The box with green label sent me [' 20 patronen No. 403 fur die Mauser selbsladeude pistole 
caliber J'6t, '] must have contained loaded cartridges. It contains one clip in three of expanding 
bullets taken from the special boxes with yellow tickets. These balls are made expansive in the 
manufacture ; it would not be possible to make them such by hand. 
"Antwerp, 28th August, 1914. 

"(Signed) V. ROUSSEUX, 

" Expert Armourer." 

Report of the Expert Armourer. 

"The soldier, Theophile Levant, of the 5th Lancers, was wounded at 12 noon on 27th September, 
at the battle of Alost, by an expanding bullet. The orifice of entry, corresponding to the diameter 
of the ball, was situated one-third of the way up his left forearm, on the front side. 

" The bullet splashed, carrying away all the bones of the wrist, the ends of four upper small bones 
of the palm, and the soft tissues of the back of the wrist. On the front of the wrist the flesh was 
lacerated in several places. The lesions were such that it was necessary to amputate the forearm. 

"The amputation took place at 8 p.m. on 27th September, Present : Doctors Van de Velde, 
Neirynck, and De Broyker. The operation was also witnessed by Doctor Bossaerts (Chief of the 
Red Cross Hospital at Ghent) and the nurses on duty, Mesdames M. Lippens, E. J. Braun, P. Lippens 
and Mesdemoiselles de Hemptine and Lamont, also by the hospital attendants MM. Braun and 
Carpentier. 

" Annexed are two photographs and one X-ray photograph of the wounded hand. It has been 
preserved. 

" Signed by the eleven persons mentioned above in the Report, 

" Dr. J. VAN DE VELDE. 

" Dr. NEIRYNCK. 

"Dr. DE BROYKER. 

"M. LIPPENS. 

"S. LIPPENS. 

"A. DE HEMPTINE. 

"EMMA LAMONT. 

" Dr. BOSSAERTS. 

"A. BRAUN. 

" E. J. BRAUN. 

"RENE CARPENTIER. 

Certificate of three doctors, four hospital attendants, and two ambulance attendants. 



( +° 





Place Leopold at Namur before and after the German occupation. One of the houses 

behind the statue is the Nursing' Home of Dr. Bribosia, where 

Belgian and French wounded were killed. 



( 4* ) 

HONOUR IN WAR : FORBIDDEN METHODS OF WAR. 
THE PROTECTION OF THE WOUNDED. 

" The contracting Powers agree to abstain from the use of projectiles, the sole object of which is 
diffusion of asphyxiating or deleterious gases." 

Declaration signed at The Hague the 29th July, 1899. 

"... it is especially forbidden to kill or wound an enemy who having laid down arms or having 
no longer the means of defence has surrendered at discretion. 

Art. 23 of The Hague Rules of War. 

"On the 23rd April, 1915, the Germans prepared to attack the sector of Steenstraat-Langemarck 
employing asphyxiating gases. Clouds of gas were driven forward and settled in the trenches 
occupied by the Allied troops. 

" The gases were seen to form a low cloud of a dark geenish colour which became lighter and 
transformed itself into a bright yellow towards the summit ; the cloud may have been 100 metres in 
height. These gases appear to be of different kinds being formed of chlorine, formaline, nitrous 
vapours, sulphur, dioxide and gases not yet analysed. 

" The Germans have employed the following methods of driving these gases forward : — 

" (a) Fires lighted in front of the trenches. # The gases which are then released are driven 

along by the wind in the direction of the enemy's positions ; 

" (b) Jars thrown into the trenches either by hand or from engines ; 

" (c) Tubes which set free the gases ; 

" (d) Shells containing asphyxiating gases. 

" The gases which the Germans have employed have effect to a distance of three kilometres. 
After a minute or a minute and a half the victims begin to vomit and to spit blood. Their eyes and 
mucous membranes become enframed and they are overcome by a sort of stupor which lasts for three 
or four hours and sometimes longer." 

Extract from the 14th Report of the Committee of Inquiry. 

" Quartermaster Baudoin van de Kerchove, 3rd Lancers, deposes that after he had been wounded 
by two German bullets at the battle at Orsmael (10th August, 1914), the Germans maltreated him in 
spite of his injuries. One of them took his carbine from his hand, whirled it round his head, and 
inflicted a violent blow on his ribs with it. A second German, seeing that he was still alive, fired on 
him from a distance of only six feet ; luckily for him the bullet only inflicted a grazing wound on his 
abdomen. [Depositions taken at Ghent, 17th August, 1914.] 

" A cyclist-rifleman, who fell into the hands of the Germans in this same battle, was found 
hanged in a hedge. We have several witnesses to this fact, among them the priest of the village, who 
took charge of the burying of the corpse. [Evidence of Captain Dezande, of the Cyclist Battalion.] 

" On 16th August, French soldiers', wounded on the previous night at the battle of Dinant, were 
found with their skulls battered in by blows with clubbed rifles. [Evidence taken at the Session on 
30th September, 1914.] 

" On 23rd August, at Namur, German soldiers moved their own wounded from the private hospital 
of Dr. Bribosia, which was used as a dressing-station, but killed two Belgian and two French wounded 
men who had been tended there. They then set the hospital on fire. [Evidence at the Sessions of 
29th August, 1914. 28th September, 1914, and 1st October, 1914.] 

" On 25th August at Hofstaede, near Malines, a Belgian rifleman left slightly wounded was finished 
off with blows from the butts of rifles which smashed in his skull. [Evidence taken at Session of 
27th August, 1914.] 

" Twenty-two soldiers of the same corps were found dead in a little wood lying to the right of the 
road from Malines to Terneuze, near Baarbeck. Eighteen of them had been killed by bayonet thrusts 
in the face ; they had bullet wounds, but these were not dangerous, only sufficient to prevent them 
from escaping. But the four remaining Belgians, who had fatal bullet wounds, bore no traces of the 
bayonet. [Evidence taken at Session of 12th October, 1914.] 

" On 25th August, at the battle in the neighbourhood of Sempst, the soldier Lootens, of the 
24th of the Line, whose duty it was to aid the ambulance staff in carrying off the wounded, found two 
Belgian corpses bound to a tree. These soldiers were still wearing their full equipment ; their coats 
were torn open, and it was clear that they had been bayoneted in the stomach ; their entrails were 
protruding from the wounds. 

" On the 25th August, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, a nurse attending to the wounded at Eppeghem 
saw a German soldier give a death blow to a Belgian soldier slightly wounded in the lower part of his 
face by striking him on the head with the butt end of his rifle." 

Extract from the 7th Report of the Committee of Inquiry. 
" It is proved — 

" That the rules and usuages of war were frequently broken, particularly by killing the wounded 
and prisoners." 

Conclusions of the Report of the English Committee. 



( 42 ) 




I. — The town of Louvain, a 
great part of which was de- 
stroyed by the German army 
wantonly and not in the course 
of any military action 25th to 
30th August, 1914. 



II. — The town of Dinant, 
burnt and completely destroyed 
by the German army 23rd to 
25th August, 1914. 




III. — The town of Termonde, 
bombarded on three occasions 
and entirely burnt after it had 
been sacked by the German 
army between the 4th Sep- 
tember and the end of October, 
1914. 



( 43 ) 

THE DESTRUCTION OF OPEN TOWNS : LOUVAIN, DINANT, 

TERMONDE. 

" The attack or bombardment by any means whatever of towns, villages, habitations or buildings which are 
not defended is forbidden." 

Art. 25 of the Hague Rules of War 

"It is forbidden to destroy the enemy's property unless such destruction be imperatively demanded by the 
necessities of war." 

Art. 23 (J.) of the Hague Rules of War. 

" The giving up to pillage of a town or place even when taken by assault is forbidden." 
Art. 28. 

"At Louvain a third of the buildings are down ; one thousand and seventy-four dwellings have 
disappeared ; on the town land and in the suburbs, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three 
houses have been burnt. 

" In this dear city of Louvain, perpetually in my thoughts, the magnificent church of St. Peter will 
never recover its former splendour. The ancient college of St. Ives, the art-schools, the consular and 
commercial schools of the University, the old markets, our rich library with its collections, its unique 
and unpublished manuscripts, its archives, its gallery of great portraits of illustrious rectors, chancellors, 
professors, dating from the time of its foundation, which preserved for masters and students alike a 
noble tradition and were an incitement in their studies — all this accumulation of intellectual, of historic, 
and of artistic riches, the fruit of the labours of five centuries — all is in the dust." 

Extract from the Pastoral letter of Cardinal Mercier (Christmas, 19 14). 

" To sum up, the town of Dinant is destroyed. It counted 1,400 houses ; only 200 remain. The 
manufactories where the artisan population worked have been systematically destroyed. Rather more 
than 700 of the inhabitants have been killed ; others have been taken off to Germany, and are still 
retained there as prisoners. The majority are refugees scattered all through Belgium. A few who 
remained in the town are dying in hunger."' 

Conclusions of the nth Report of the Committee of Inquiry (16th January, 1915). 

"The town of Termonde was systematically destroyed. It was destroyed by methodical arson, 
accompanied by pillage. Even allowing that there was a military necessity for the bombardment, that 
bombardment only completed the devastating work of the German pioneer-troops." 

Conclusion of the 9th Report of the Committee of Inquiry (24th December, 1914). 

" It is proved — 

"... that the burnings and destruction were frequent where no military necessity could be 
alleged." 

Conclusions of the Report of the English Committee. 



( 44 ) 




What remains of the Library of the University of Louvain. 
The outer walls — the interior. 



( 45 ) 



PLACES THE DESTRUCTION OF WHICH IS FORBIDDEN: 
BUILDINGS DEVOTED TO SCIENCE. 



"... All necessary steps should be taken to spare, as far as possible, buildings devoted to 
religion,' art, science and charity, historic monuments, hospitals and places where the sick and wounded 
are collected. . . ." ■ 

Article 27 of the Hague Rules of War. 

" The tragic burning of the University buildings of Louvain by the German troops has caused a 
twofold disaster, the destruction of a very remarkable historical monument and the loss of the treasures 
of learning that had been preserved for centuries in the archives of the Library. 

" The University of Louvain dates from the beginning of the 14th century. All the world knows 
the Salle des Pas-Perdus in the University buildings ; so many reproductions have been made of its 
graceful cloisters, its columns with their varied capitols, its brackets boldly carved with original 
designs. 

" The University buildings erected at the end of the 17th century, and a vast building added at 
the beginning of the 18th century, were used for the purposes of the University Library. Few library 
buildings could bear comparison with our great room, with its oak panelling so boldly conceived and so 
carefully executed as to be at once imposing and harmonious. Another room, restored a year ago, was 
a gem of the fine and delicate architecture of the Renaissance. In the old medical lecture hall, which 
had been scrupulously preserved in all its details, University degrees used to be conferred with solemn 
pomp The public reading room, called the " salle des portraits," contained a collection which was of 
unique interest in the literary history of the Low Countries ; the portraits of the most illustrious 
professors and distinguished benefactors of the ancient university found a place there. 

"The Library of the University of Louvain possessed 500 manuscripts. Particularly notable 
amongst them was a tiny manuscript written by Thomas a Kempis with his own hand, and numerous 
prayer books illuminated with gorgeous miniatures. Our collection of incunabula was among the most 
important and most valuable. We had from 800 to 1,000 specimens. The total number of our volumes 
was upwards of 250,000. Our collection of early impressions was of the richest ; documents, pamphlets, 
and notices regarding the Revolution in the Low Countries and Jansenism were bound in volumes of 
" miscellanies " which formed an immense library which it is impossible to replace. 

" We kept in large cupboards a fine collection of Flemish bindings of the 16th and 17th centuries, 
and rare bibliographical and typographical curiosities of every sort. We guarded the whole with a 
jealous care for all the precious memorials of the ancient University. Who has not admired the finely 
preserved original of the charter founding our University in 1425 ? Who has not heard speak of the 
copy on vellum of the famous work of Andre Vesale, de humani corporis fabrica, a copy of which 
Charles V. presented to our University ? 

"The burning of the University buildings has completely destroyed the treasures kept in the 
Library of the University of Louvain. In their night of drunken and murderous orgy the German 
soldiers spared nothing. Those who have this crime against learning and civilisation on their 
conscience will have to bear, in the judgment of history, a heavy and lasting responsibility. 

" P. DELANNOY, 

" Librarian of the University of Louvain." 



( 46 ) 






The hospital of Lierre protected by the flag of the Red Cross systematically bombarded by the German 
Army. The principal hall— a wounded Belgian and an infirm old woman were killed there. 



I 47 ) 



PLACES THE DESTRUCTION OF WHICH IS FORBIDDEN 
BUILDINGS DEVOTED TO CHARITABLE OBJECTS. 



LOUVAIN. 

" On Thursday, 27th, at 8 o'clock, an order was given to all the inhabitants to leave Louvain : the 
town was going to be bombarded. 

" Old men, women, children, sick people, lunatics from the asylums, priests, nuns, were brutally 
driven like cattle alons* the roads. We only realise now the atrocities committed during this terrible 
exodus. These people were driven in different directions by brutal soldiers, forced to kneel and to lift 
their arms each time they met German soldiers and officers ; they were left without food during the 
day, without shelter during the night." 

Extract from the 5th Report of the Committee of Inquiry. 



TERMONDE. 

" Next day (5th September) began the complete destruction of the town by fire, under the 
direction of a Major von Sommerfeld. The hospital was not spared ; it was drenched with petroleum 
and set alight. The sick, wounded, and old people were carried out ; but one epileptic man perished 
in the blaze." 

Extract from the 9th Report of the Committee of Inquiry. 



LIERRE. 

" On the 29th September began the bombardment of Lierre. The first bomb fell at a distance of 
150 metres from the hospital from which the Red Cross flag was clearly seen to be flying. The second 
shell fell within 9 or 10 metres of the hospital. 

•' I went to look immediately after the bombardment; a woman had been killed, besides a little 
boy and a little girl in the interior of a house. I had their remains taken up. I went to the hospital. 
One of the nuns told me that they had just brought down the bodies of four people killed by one ot the 
shells I asked on what spot the shell had fallen, and there I found two more corpses lying dead. 
On the ground floor there were two old women killed by fragments of shells. I ran to a photographer. 
He took four negatives." 

Statement of a witness before the Court of Inquiry, 3rd November, 1914. 



( 4* ) 




Interior of a Church at Termonde. 



The Church of Elewyt. 




The church of Vise" burnt down long after the capture of Liege andfcat the time when the Belgian 
army had retired towards Louvain. Vise is the last Belgian town on the left bank of the Meuse. The 
town was completely destroyed after all military operations had ceased, 15th August, 1914. 



( 4Q ) 

PLACES THE DESTRUCTION OF WHICH IS FORBIDDEN: 
BUILDINGS DEVOTED TO WORSHIP. 



" The ancient church of Hastieres suffered odious profanation. Horses were stabled in it. The 
priestly vestments were torn and befouled. The lamps, statues, and holy-water stoups were broken. 
The reliquary was smashed, and the relics scattered about. Among them were some relics of the 
Eleven Thousand Virgins of Cologne, which had escaped the fury of the Huguenots of 1590 and 
the Revolution of 1700. The tabernacle resisted an attempt at burglary, but two of the four altars 
were profaned ; the sepulchres at the altars were broken open and the remains in them thrown 
out and trampled under foot." 

Statement of a witness annexed to the report of the sitting of the 18th 
December, IQ14. (nth Report of the Committee of Inquiry.) 

" The church presents a lamentable aspect. Its three doors, as well as that of the sacristy, 
have bepn more or less consumed. The door of the nave and side door on the right, both of 
massive oak, seem to have been forced in by a battering ram after the flames had weakened them. 
In the interior, the altars, confessionals, harmoniums and candelabra are broken, the collection boxes 
are forced open, the wooden Gothic statues which decorated the columns of the nave have been 
torn down, others have been partially destroyed by fire." 

Report by M. Pierre Orts, Secretary of the Committee of Inquiry on his 
visit to Aerschot. 

"At Grimberghen at the Abbey Premontres there were two sealed crypts into which no one 
ever descends. On the right are buried the princes of Merode Rubempre, on the other side the 
prelates. 

" The tombs have been violated. Some rings which the dead prelates wore on the fingers had 
been carried away." 

Evidence of M. C. de Vilvorde. 

" What shall we sav now of the material damage caused in a few days within our diocese. We 
visited several of the districts which have suffered, and we shed bitter tears before the ruins of churches, 
schools, presbyteries, dwelling- places and entire monuments ivhich had been destroyed, sometimes in the 
confusion of battle, but more often by incendiarism. Must we cite the names t Dinant, Tamines- 
Saint- Martin, Sorinne, Spontin, Hastieres, Hermeton-sur-Meuse, Onhayc, Anthee, ct Maurenne, Surice, 
Romedenne, Franchimont, Villers-en-Fagne, Frasnes, Villerzee, Bourseigne-Neuve, Musson, Baranzy, 
Ethe, Gonieiy, Tintigny, Houdemont, Rossignol, Herbeumont, Maissin, Porcheressc, these are parishes 
which the war has willed shall be blotted out from the map of our diocese. And apart from the 
villages which have suffered martyrdom wc know of 150 others where the damage has been more or 
less serious. 

"But what fills our heart with the deepest feeling of bitterness is the thought of the sacrileges of 
which our diocese has been the theatre in many localities. From the bottom of our heart we deplore 
these sacrileges, because they are a direct offence against Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist, which for 
so long we have sought to make known, loved and honoured throughout our dioceseP 

Extract from the Lent charge of His Grace Monseigneur Heylen, Bishop of Namur. 
«8i D 



( 50 ) 






Malines and Ypres contained two jewels of medieval architecture : the metropolitan church of 
St. Rombaut and the Cloth Hall. 

Three attempts were made by the Germans to reach the first building with their guns, the 
second was shattered a little more every day by the murderous shells bent on destroying the most 
noted communal monument of Flanders. 



( Si ) 



PLACES OF WHICH THE DESTRUCTION IS FORBIDDEN : 
HISTORICAL MONUMENTS. 

SAINT ROMBAUT DE MALINES. 

Of all the monuments which our glorious past has bequeathed us none can be more remarkable 
than the Church of St. Rombaut, the construction of which was begun at the end of the thirteenth 
century and completed in 131 2. It is a Gothic edifice in the form of a cross with a colossal tower 
in the west. 

This massive and venerable tower is of admirable proportions. It gives an impression of 
strength, vigour and solidity never to be forgotten. Standing before it one has the idea of being 
in the presence of something of an eternal nature. It seems indeed to be the Guardian of the City. 

Only the gay notes of its chimes, which on summer evenings charm with their silvery music 
the ears of the inhabitants assembled at the Cafes in the square, seem somewhat to soften the 
austerity of its aspect as a tutelary spirit. 

The interior of the church itself inspires a feeling of intense fervour, but it is necessary to 
take part in one of the solemn masses which are celebrated there on the days of high festivals in 
order to grasp all the liturgic splendour of Flemish Catholicism. Streaks of copper, gold and silver 
scintillate in the light of the lofty windows and the resplendent stained glass. The excellence of 
individual works of art, while they contribute to the splendour of the sacred objects which the 
ceremonial of worship seems to invest with life, is almost lost 'in the simple, all-pervading beauty of 
the entire edifice. 

Besides its beautiful Verity pulpit of the seventeenth century carved by J. F. R. Bockstuyns 
and representing a multitude of men and women, saints and angels, quaintly grouped together in 
delicious crudity, and its superb communion bench carved by Arnold Quellyn in 1678, St. Rombaut 
possesses a work of very high order, namely, the Christ on the Cross, by Van Dyck. 



THE HALLES OF YPRES. 

The first stone of the Halles of Ypres was laid in the year 1200 by the Count of Flanders, 
Beaudouin IX. The whole was completed in 1304. In 1620 an elegant building was built at its 
side with colonnades, which afterwards became the Hotel de Ville. Above this, over the whole 133 
metres of frontage, a huge romantic room, decorated with wonderful fiescoes, occupied the whole of 
the first floor. 

The Halles of Ypres, in their ancient simplicity, formed one of the most beautiful lay monuments 
of Gothic style, not only of Belgium but of the whole of Europe. " One finds oneself," said the 
historian, Henri Pirenne, " in presence of an entirely new art which owes nothing to anybody. 
Flanders has nowhere adopted as a model those great and severe buildings whose practical purpose 
is so happily mingled with a character of heroism and majesty. It is in the Halles that the Flemish 
civilisation of the thirteenth century finds its most noble and characteristic expression." 

The artist will fully confirm the judgment of the historian. The Halles of Ypres are in the 
lay and communal architecture of the middle ages what the cathedral of Chartres is in religious 
architecture, the perfect model of the highest expression of a definite ideal. 

Extract from Belgique illusiree, by Dumont Wilden. 



( 52 ) 





Safes broken open with the help of the tools of professional burglars by the German Troops at 
Dinant, Termonde and in the environs of Malines. 



FORBIDDEN PILLAGE. 

11 The giving up to pillage of a town or place, even when taken by assault, is forbidden." 
u Pillage is formally prohibited." 

Arts. 28 and 47 of the Hague Rules of War. 

" One company, under a captain, burst into the offices of the ' Dender Central Bank,' a private 
company, and searched them from end to end. Soon after, a special squad entered the bank, and 
blew open the safe in the room of the manager, from which frs. 2,400 were taken. They then forced 
the wrought-iron gate of the bank cellar, which contained the boxes deposited by private customers. 
But there was a second door to the cellar which resisted their burglarious efforts. It was only the 
great solidity of this structure which preserved the private safes below.'' 

Extract from the 9th Report of the Committee of Inquiry : The Sack of Termonde. 

" While a certain number of soldiers were perpetrating this massacre, others pillaged and sacked 
the houses of the town, and broke open all safes, sometimes blasting them with dynamite. They 
entered the Banque Centrale de la Meuse, seized the Director, M. Xavier Wasseige, and demanded 
that he should open the safes. On his refusal they attempted to break them open. As they did 
not succeed, they led M. Wasseige and his two eldest sons to the Place d'Armes and shot them, 
together with 120 of their fellow citizens, with machine guns. M. Wasseige's three youngest children, 
held by soldiers, were forced to witness the murder of their father and brothers. It is also said that 
one of M. Wasseige's sons lay in agony on the Place dArmes for a whole hour, no one daring to 
give him help." 

Extract from the nth Report of the Committee of Inquiry : The Sack of Dinant. 

" The German authorities entered the private banks and seized the cash in hand. They found 
£12 at the Banque de la Dyle and ^"480 at the Banque Populaire." 

Extract from the 5th Report of the Committee of Inquiry : The Sack of Louvain. 

" It is proved : 

"... that looting, house burning, and the wanton destruction of property were ordered and 
countenanced by the officers of the German Army." 

Conclusions of the Report of the English Committee. 



( 54 ) 





Ir.cendiary tablets found on soldiers belonging to the special corps 

of " pionniers " and among the ruins of houses destroyed by fire 

at Termonde. 



( 55 ) 



RESPECT OF PRIVATE PROPERTY. 

" A company was directed (at Termonde) to carry out the destruction of the houses. This 
company kept central reservoirs where each man carrying a pneumatic belt went to replenish himself 
with an incendiary liquid with which to sprinkle the wood on the outside of the houses ; another 
man wearing a glove especially provided with a preparation of phosphorus, passed in front of the 
houses which had been sprinkled and rubbed his glove on the wood. This set fire to the houses and 
permitted a whole street to be burnt all in a quarter of an hour. In order to expedite still further 
the burning of the houses, the men threw inside inflammable matter of which I send you a sample." 

Report of the Belgian military authority, 19th September, 19 14. 



" These tablets are black in colour with a metallic surface ; they are shiny, greasy to the touch, 
elastic and without odour. When rubbed on paper they leave a black mark. 

" They have a diameter of 20 - 5 millimetres, a thickness of 2'9 millimetres, and shew in the 
centre a circular aperture of 4'2 millimetres. They weigh 1-43 grams. Examined under a magnifying 
glass they shew a slight trace of parallel lines going the same direction on both sides ; which seems to 
indicate that they have been submitted to a process of rolling. 

" When cut in transverse sections it is seen that they are black only on the surface and that they 
are composed of a substance of a horny nature, of a yellowish colour and transparent. 

" When lighted they quickly burst into flame, and produce a deflagration while emitting a 
yellowish flame. 

" A chemical examination shews that they are composed of nitro-cellulose. 

" Conclusions. — These tablets are made with nitro-cellulose gelatinised with a view to enabling them 
to be submitted to the process of rolling and afterwards cut by a machine. 

"Their surface is covered with black lead with a view to lessening the electric properties of the 
nitro-cellulose and facilitate their manipulation. 

" It is possible that the central aperture of these tablets is designed to enable a number to be 
joined together by means of a wick intended to be ignited before they are thrown on to the spot 
where it is desired to produce the fire. 

" Chemist, 1st Class, 

(Signed) G. DE RUDDER." 

Analysis of the incendiary tablets with an indication of their use. 



" It is proved : 

"... that elaborate provision had been made for systematic incendiarism at the very outbreak 
of the war." 

Conclusions of the report of the English Committee. 



( 56 ) 




His Grace Monseigneur CHARLES GUSTAVE WALRAVENS, 
Bishop of Tournai. 

Taken as a hostage at Tournai on the 24th August, 1914; died in the same town, 16th February, 1915. 



" The venerable Bishop of Tournai, an old man and an invalid, was shut up for five days at Ath, 
in a nauseous place, where he had only a mattress to lie upon, and no food save what certain devoted 
ladies brought him." 

Extract from the ioth Report of the Committee of Inquiry. 



( 57 ) 



RESPECT FOR NON-COMBATANTS: HOSTAGES. 

". . . in cases not included in the regulations adopted, populations and bellio-ercnts remain under 
the protection and the rule of the principles of the law of nations as they result from the usages established 
between civilised nations from the laws of humanity and the requirements of the public conscience'' 1 

Preamble of the Hague Rules of War. 

'' The belligerent is forbidden to compel the nationals of the adverse parly to take part in the operations 
of War directed against their country P 

Art. 23 of the Hague Rules of War. 

From the first moment when the German army came into touch with the Belgian forces before 
Liege, it sought to protect itself by thrusting before it groups of civilians. One witness described to us 
the way in which a German battery, which was firing at the Carmelite Monastery of Chevremont, sought 
to shelter itself from the fire of a fort by massing around itself people arrested from the neighbouring 
villages, including women and even children. The same witness declares that he saw a body of German 
troops, who passed through the gap between forts Fleron and Chaudefontaine, driving before them many 
civilians, whom they had picked up on the highway : most of them had their hands tied behind their 
backs. Another group was made to march in the middle of the column ; it included an old man of 
eighty years of age, whom two companions had literally to drag along. 

To turn to the other side of Belgium — a witness gives us the following description of a German 
column as it marched through a commune of the Borinage (province of Hainault) on its way to attack 
the French, who were falling back to the other bank of the Sambre. "There came first cyclists, then 
infantry in open order, then a party of about 100 ' hostages,'' then masses of infantry, next some motors 
(of which several were being dragged by horses), then some guns, and lastly a group of about 300 more 
1 hostages ' who had ropes passed round them. 

Although the French had lined the heights which commanded the valley, they hesitated long 
before firing. The reason was that they saw these civilians both at the head of and behind the German 
column. After the fighting had begun, and many Germans had fallen under the French fire, the troops 

occupying the village of set fire to all the houses along the street where they were standing.'' 

This did not hinder the onward march of the invading army. At 10 p.m. the witness observed another 
group of civilians, which comprised this time many women and children. Part of them, men, women 
and children, were forced to spend the night on the bridge over the Sambre, in order that the French 
might be prevented from bombarding it. Others were pushed forward toward the French firing line : 
among these were the priest in charge of the Free School, an old man of 64, and three younger 
ecclesiastics. On the following morning our witness, who was under arrest himself in another group of 
" hostages," noticed eight nuns stationed on the bridge, to preserve it against attempts at destruction. 

Extract from the 10th Report of the Committee of Inquiry. 

"It is proved : 

"... that the rules and usages or war were frequently broken, particularly by the using of 
civilians, including women and children, as a shield for advancing forces exposed to fire." 

Conclusions of the Report of the English Committee. 



( 5§ ) 




Degrading mark painted in oil colours on the back of every civil 
prisoner interned in one of the German camps "Kriegsgefangenen 
Celle." " Kriegsgefangenen Munster." 

Thousands of Belgian citizens have been similarly deported to the prisons of Germany, to Munsterlagen, 
to Celle, and Magdeburg. At Munsterlagen alone the civit prisoners numbered three thousand one hundred. 



Pastoral letter of Cardinal Mercier. 



( 59 ) 



CUSTOMS RECOGNISED BY CIVILIZED NATIONS; 
CIVILIAN PRISONERS. 

A witness, who was arrested when alone, and long after the termination of hostilities, has given 
us a detailed narrative of his captivity. He was seized in the suburbs of Brussels, and added to a 
party of about twenty other civilians, who were taken to Germany on a military train, under a 
guard of four soldiers. At the German railway stations the populace seemed to have been expecting 
the passage of the train ; they insulted the prisoners, whom the soldiers in charge pointed out to 
them as " the franc-tireurs." Our witness affirms that in another carriage of his train there were 
other civilian prisoners, including an old gentleman with two little girls of twelve and thirteen, and 
a boy about ten years old. The rest of the train contained military prisoners, Belgian, French and 
English, whom the crowd did not molest, and who received decent rations ; but the civilians 
were given nothing but bread and water. After several days of most painful travelling, the civilian 

prisoners were interned at X- , where our witness reports that they found several hundred 

other Belgian non-combatants. To the number of over 650 they were shut up in a granary, and 
forced to sleep on straw. There were six priests among them. They were roused in the morning 
by blows and curses, and led into a barrack square ; here an inscription was placed on their backs, 
designating them as "prisoners of war" at the town where they were detained. At midday they 
were given a bowl of soup. The punishments in vogue were the cells and the pillory— on which 
men were exposed for hours on end — not to speak of curses and blows from sticks or the butt ends 
of rifles. The rooms were insanitary, and the latrine was an open one— a rudimentary structure 
composed of a fir tree nailed down on supporting beams over a trench about thirty feet long. In 
this place there were imprisoned 300 inhabitants of a certain Flemish village, including the parish priest, 
his curate, the schoolmaster, the secretary of the commune, and a seminarist, as also a priest from 
the diocese of Namur, a seminarist from Hoogstraeten, and a clerical professor from the College of St. Pierre 
at Brussels. 

Extract from the 10th Report of the Committee of Inquiry. 

From another witness we have information concerning the lot of the civilian prisoners interned 
at another German town. This was the place to which a great number of the inhabitants of 
Louvain were carried off. Crammed together in goods wagons without windows, these poor people, 
among whom were over 100 women and children (some of the latter mere infants), were forced 

to travel almost without food and without any chance of sleep. At Z they were turned 

out, to be lodged in sheds which in time of peace served some for horses and others for soldiers. 
Many of these people remain there still ; most of them have only their summer clothing, some no 
proper clothing at all, for they were turned out of their houses just as they were, without being 
permitted to finish their dressing or to take any baggage in their hands. They have only straw to 
sleep upon, and it has never been renewed. They were given on their arrival only one blanket 
between each two persons, and these blankets were old, dirty and very thin. Fire and lighting 
were unknown luxuries. The food consists of one loaf for each three persons, given out on alternate 
days, and this loaf weighs less than six pounds. Each morning and evening they have a small ration 
of coffee, and each day at 1 1 a.m. a bowl of soup, which it is often impossible to consume. The 
German authorities have made no provision for the cleanliness of the prisoners — no towels, no soap. 
After a time those of the prisoners who had money were able to improve their condition somewhat ; 
but many had been carried off without warning, and had no funds whatever. 

We are assured that the moral sufferings of the prisoners are even worse than their physical 
sufferings. They have to live in unpleasant and dangerous contiguity with individuals suffering from 
contagious diseases. These civilians are of all ranks of life — priests, university professors, lawyers, 
employers of labour, shopkeepers, working people. All alike are condemned to complete idleness. 
No books are allowed, and no tools. The German soldiery, alleging that they are dealing with 
" franc-tireurs and murderers," treat them with the greatest brutality. Can we wonder at the fact 
that many of the prisoners have become insane ? 

Extract from the 10th Report of the Committee of Inquiry. 



( 6o 




Letter of invitation to attend the celebration of a service for the repose of the 

souls of 61 PERSONS, OF WHOM FOUR WERE 
WOMEN, MASSACRED within the territory of the Commune of Olne 
(a few kilometres from Liege) on the 5th and 6th August, 1914. 



( 6i ) 



[translation] 



PARISH OF ST. HADELIN (OLNE) 

The Members of the Conseil de Fabrique, and the Heads of the Brotherhoods of 
the Holy Virgin and Sainte Barbe, invite you to assist at the solemn service which 
will be held at the Church of St. Hadelin on Monday, 9th November, at 10.30, for 
the repose of the souls of the members of the Brotherhood whose names are here 
given : 

P. J. Hougrand, died at Micheroux on 22nd February, member of the Brother- 
hood of the Holy Virgin. 

Elizabeth Franquet, died at Verviers on 9th July, member of the two 
Brotherhoods. 

Also for the victims of the massacre of 5th and 6th August in this Parish : 

Jean Naval, Georges Delrez, the widow Desonay, Josephine Desonay, Victor 
Warmer, Victor Warmer, son, Nelly Warnier, Edgard Warmer, of St. Hadelin. 

Jean Matz, Andre Crahay and Paul Bailly, of Foret. 

All killed on 5th August on the Fawen. 

Jean Willot, Laurent Gillet, Jacques Rahier, Denis Naval, Jean Naval, Jacques 
Maguel, Henri Maguel, Pierre Dewandre, Julien Dewandre, Henri Dewandre, 
Joseph Delsaute, Louis Germay, Guillaume Leclercq, Jean Legrand, Noel Grand'ry, 
Joseph Grand'ry, Leonard Grand'ry, Augustin Sequaris, Pierre Dethier, Paul Dethier, 
Leonard Lamarche, Felicien Boeur, Alphonse Boeur, Vicor Hubert, Henri Hubert, 
Joseph Tixhon, Edouard Daenen, Gilles Hautvast, Gaspard Hautvast, Jacques Hautvast, 
Joseph Hautvast, de Saint-Hadelin. 

Victor Polet, Jean Backer and Fernand Maguel, of Ayeneux, 

Joseph Strauven of Charneux ; Joseph Delhalle, of Robermont. 

Toussaint Hansez, Victor Hansez, Laurent Francois and Jules Saive of Bouny. 

All killed at Riessonsart, on 6th August. 

Albert Schweiz, Betty Schweiz, Wilhelm Hasenklever, Blaise Graner, Antoine 
Daelhem, of Saint-Hadelin. 

Hubert Blum and Mathieu Klein, of Fleron. 

All killed in the heights of Olne on 6th August. 

Denis Naval-Rogisler, of Magnee, killed in the heights of Ayeneux on 
6th August, and Mathieu Closset, of St. Hadelin, killed at Bouny on 6th August. 

Pray to G-od for the repose of their souls. 

Gentle Heart of Mary, be my refuge. 

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us. 

St. Joseph, patron of Belgium, pray for us. 

St. Hadelin, patron of the Parish, pray for us. 

Sainte Barbe, patroness of kindly death, pray for us. 



( 62 ) 



WHOLESALE REPRISALS: THE FIRST MASSACRES. 

" I was anxious, in the evening of the 3rd August, to calm the anxieties of my parishioners. I said 
to them : ' You have nothing to fear ; if you do not attack the soldiers they will do nothing to you. Do 
you suppose that they are going to pillage your houses and burn the village, and assassinate women and 
children ? The Prussians are not savages.' 

" The following day, the first act of the soldiers who entered Battice was to break the doors and 
windows, to carry off whatever they pleased, and to kill several persons and torture others. 

" On the afternoon of Wednesday, the 6th August, a superior officer came and said to me : 

" ' Monsieur le cure, where is the burgomaster ? ' 

" I replied : 

" ' The burgomaster is not here.' 

" l And the population ? ' 

" 'There are several inhabitants here, but most o f them have fled in the direction of a neighbouring 
village.' 

" ' What are they afraid of? Go and tell them to come back. You will do them a good service.' 

" And he added the following words : 

" ' Tell them that they have nothing to fear. I am the commander or the troops billeted here, and 
I take you under my protection. Make a point of telling the inhabitants that I take them under my 
guardianship.' 

" I went away full of confidence in his words. But I had not reached the hamlet before the sack of 
Battice began. More than twenty persons were killed or burnt alive. The whole village was set on fire 
with the exception of the part about the station, which was required by the troops. 

" Such is the story of that day. 

" And do you know how they would justify these murders and this destruction of an entire parish ? 

' ; At first they said : ' Someone fired from this house ' (M. Fraikin's house). Now, I can assert in 
the most solemn manner that there was not anybody in this house or in the surrounding houses. 

" Next they accused the cure, saying : ' He fired on us from the belfry of the church.' And yet the 
soldiers, as well as the inhabitants, saw me leaving the village at the request of the officer ten minutes 
before the fusillade. 

" Finally, by way of a third explanation, they said : ' The burgomaster killed our commander after 
shewing him welcome.' Now, the burgomaster had disappeared before the arrival of the enemy, and did 
not see them again at Battice until several weeks later, when the Germans wanted him in order to make 
him give up the treasury of the Commune. 

"G. VOISIN, 

" Cure at Battice." 

(Extract from a letter addressed on the 12th March, 1915, to the Dutch newspaper 
De Tyd, of Amsterdam). 

Battice is the first important village met by the German army in their march on Liege. It is on 
the plateau immediately before the town of Herve, which was half destroyed, and of which 44 inhabitants 
were killed, and the villages of Olne, Soumagne, Micheroux, La Bouxhe, where from the first days a 
number of civilians, men, women and children, were shot or burned. 



( 63 ) 



WHOLESALE REPRISALS: THE MASSACRES AT AERSCHOT. 

u I have been able to reconstruct the drama of Aerschot, with the aid of the depositions of 
eye-witnesses and of two letters of Mme. Tielemans, the burgomaster's wife, written to the Minister 
of State (Cooreman) and to the Committee of Enquiry into the violations of international law, letters 
which were shown me by Chevalier Ernst de Bunswyck. 

" The Commanding Officer at Aershot was killed, not treacherously in his bedroom, but on the 
balcony of the house of the burgomaster who was giving him hospitality. The market place was full 
of soldiers. All of a sudden shots were fired without any apparent reason. Indescribable chaos followed. 
The soldiers fired at random on the surrounding houses. The commander fell and was carried by his 
comrades in arms into a room, where he expired. After his death there was a desire for reprisals. 
The mayor was arrested, with his brother and young son who had been wounded' on the preceding 
day by a ricochetting bullet, and who, when the confusion in the market began, had hidden himself 
with his mother in the cellars of the house. The surrounding houses were also searched, and the 
twenty-seven persons were arrested in the cellars haphazard. They wanted also to arrest the senior 
cure of the town, but he had taken to flight. Consequently another priest was seized in his stead. 
As it was impossible to lay hands on the mayor's wife and daughter, who had succeeded in escaping, 
a price was set on their heads. . . . 

a The thirty persons who had been arrested and who could not be charged with the shadow of a 
crime were conducted to a trench. Their eyes were bound and they were all shot, with the exception 
of a certain Mommens whom it had been decided to pardon but who was compelled to assist in the 
burial of the bodies of his fellow citizens. As soon as the work was finished this individual was told 
to go to Louvain and tell there the story of what he had seen ; it was no doubt desired that his 
narrative should terrorise the city." 

Evidence of Dr. L. H. Grondjis, Dutch subject, formerly professor at the 
Technical Institute at Dordrecht. 



Outside the Louvain Gate: 

Victor Page. 

Bruno Tuerlinckx. 

Jean Henri Smets. 

Louis van den Heuvel. 

Pierre Mathijs. 

Raymond Nijs. 

Francois Schelleus. 

Jean Oostens. 

Louis Deroey. 

Auguste Boschmans. 

Camille van Broeckhoven. 

Henri Nijs. 

Adophe Govaerts. 

Prosper Mertens. 

Francois Brains. 

Omer Nijs. 

Louis Verbraeken. 

Ferdinand Roelauts. 

Joseph Tielemans (Burgo- 
master). 

Louis Tielemans (sou). 

Emile Tielemans (brother 1 !. 

8 unknown (unrecognisable). 

Constant Grandjean. 

Roger Vanautenboer. 

Camille Vertrujen. 

Emile Govaerts. 

Alphonse Toussaiut. 

Charles de Jonghe. 

Joseph Goosseus (Sichem). 

Henri Cypers. 

Gustave Dubois. 

Jean-Baptiste Vermeiren 
(Rillar). 

Jacques Nijs. 

Isidore Evariste Tuerlinckx 
(Sichem). 



3 unknown. 

Henri Devroery. 

Louis van Autenboer. 

Victor Cools. 

Paul Feems, 

Victor Wouters. 

2 unknown. 

Francois Verhaegen iRillaer) 

Camille Nijs. 

Richard Verrnaelen. 

Kdouard van Aelst (Messel- 

broek). 
2 unknown, 

Leonard Verbist (Rillaer). 
Alphonse van den Bemdeu. 
Joseph van den Bemden. 
Adrien van den Bemden. 
Francois Matthijs. 
Louis van Winkel 
Robert Carette (Priest). 
Hubert Nijs (Reeginevoort). 
Alphonse Minnen (Messel- 

broek). 
Polidore Goossens (Sichem). 
Jules van der Heydeu. 
Adolphe van Autenboer. 
Theophile Truyts. 
Alphonse Mutsaerts. 
Jules Lavaerts. 
Lex>n Vancriekinge. 
Charles Luyten. 
2 unknown. 
Hubert Vermunicht. 
Emeri Van der Plas. 
Pierre van Aerschot. 
Walter Tierens. 
Edmond Deleender. 
Francois Grandjean. 



Charles Lamotte. 

Francois Peelaerts. 

Gustave van de Pol. 

Rigobert van den Plas. 

Leonard Bergen. 

Jules Stalmaus. 

Jean Francois Matthijs. 

Richard Mertens. 

Henri Grandjean. 

Jules Nijs. 

Silvain Robeyns. 

Joseph Mertens. 

Jules Gustave Grandjean 

Leonard Grandjean. 

Arthur Rijckmans. 

Joseph Verhaeghen. 

Ferdinand Grandjean. 

Pierre Tonseuts. 

i unknown. 

Lucien Meijermans. 

Vital Duhaien. 

Joseph Windeliuckx. 

Celestine Claes. 

Eugene Serre. 

Ahda Marien. 

E. Andries. 

Van Mol Marguerite. 
Near the Garden of the 
Hospital: 

2 children : 
Carmen Siekens, 
Marie Vertruyen. 

Servant to the Cur£ Van Rove. 

Louis Deroo. 

Marie Ons. 
Near the Malines Gate : 

Jean Boxsteyns. 

Al phone van Opstal. 



Wed. Van Eyck. 

Lucas Mertens. 

Francois Mertens. 

Edouard Jans sens. 

Francois Vouueckx. 

Julien Desmet. 

2 unknown. 

Francois Debie. 

i unknown. 

Auguste Bergen. 

i unknown. 

5 soldiers. 
Anrodenberg : 

Jean Camerlinckx. 

Jean van de Velde. 

Joseph Claes. 

Jean-Baptiste Delatin. 

E- Jean Coremans. 

Francois Peeters. 

Louis Serneels. 

Victor Bergen. 

Francois Bergen. 

E- Bergen. 

Joseph van der Borght. 

Louis Nijs, 

Jean Daems, 

Jean Ceulemaus. 

Guilichnus Janssens. 
Sas: 

Evrard Bruyninckx. 

Frits Bruyninckx. 

Victor Bruyninckx. 

Gustave Michiels. 

Isidore van Gaubergen. 

Fran^ois-Nicholas-Joseph 
Chapeauville. 

Auguste Cuypers. 



155 bodies exhumed at Aerschot on the 16th-17th and 18th December, 1914. 




The house of the burgomaster on the Square 
at Aerschot. On the balcony the German Com- 
manding Officer was struck by a German bullet. 



The grave outside the town into which, on 
the very spot of the massacre, the bodies of the 
burgomaster, his son, his brother, and 93 other 
civilians were thrown pell-mell. 











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ttJjLrrrX. 



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/«• ^£/7 



Photograph of one of the letters written to the President of the Committee of Enquiry by the 
wife of the Burgomaster of Aerschot. In order to justify the burning and sack of this town of 8,000 
souls, and the massacre of 150 persons (of whom the bodies have now been exhumed) including several 
women and little children, during the 19th and 20th August, the German military authorities 
accused the son of the Burgomaster, Tielemans, of having assassinated the commander of the troops 
billeted on the town. (Translation opposite). 



( 6 S ) 



[translation.] 



Monsieur le President, 

The narrative for which you ask me must have been already received by you. 
I addressed it to Monsieur le Ministre Schallaert, not knowing to whom to 
send it. 

I may add the following, which I can assert to have taken place at the time the 
first shots were fired on the square by the Germans, as I was at the moment at 
the gate of the street. The General happened to be on the balcony of my house 
with his two aides de camps. A stray bullet, or one fired by his own men, hit 
him on the temple. The firing was so continuous that I do not understand how 
those who were with him were able to escape. The front of the house was 
riddled with shots. 

The Germans were infamous enough to accuse my son of having killed their 
officer. We were at that moment in the cellars with my husband, the children, 
the domestics, and even several German soldiers, who were seeking protection from 
the bullets of their own men. I can assure you that we had no arms in our 
possession. My son was of too gentle a character and too good a Christian for any 
thought of murder to enter his head. You may obtain information as to his 
character from his uncle, your friend Paul Kaepsaet of Audenarde. This charge 
against him has caused me no less grief than his death. 

Receive, Monsieur le President, the expression of my most distinguished 
sentiments. 

Mme. J. TIELEMANS. 



Villa Beau Rivage, 
Kessingen. 

24th Sett., 1914. 



5183 



( 66 ) 




Photograph of four victims of the massacre of Andenne. 
A witness holding an official position in the town 
recognised on the right of the lower part of the photo- 
graph the body of the sheriff of the commune, a 
married man and father of three children. These victims 
were shot in a meadow near the Davin iron foundries. 



( 67 ) 



WHOLESALE REPRISALS; THE MASSACRES AT ANDENNE. 

The statistics of the losses at Andenne give the following total : — Three hundred were massacred in 
Andenne and Seilles, and about 300 houses were burnt in the two localities. A great number of 
inhabitants have fled. Almost every house has been sacked ; indeed the pillage did not end for 
eight days. Other places have suffered more than Andenne, but no other Belgian town was the 
theatre of so many scenes of ferocity and cruelty. The numerous inhabitants whom we have cross- 
examined are unanimous in asserting that the German troops were not fired upon. They told us 
that no German soldier was killed either at Andenne or in its neighbourhood. They are incapable 
of understanding the causes of the catastrophe which has ruined their town, and to explain it they 
give various hypotheses. Some think that Andenne was sacrificed merely to establish a reign of 
terror, and quote words uttered by officers which seemed to them to show that the destruction of 
the place was premeditated. Others think that the destruction of the bridge, the obstruction of a 
neighbouring tunnel, and the resistance of the Belgian troops were the causes of the massacre. All 
protest that nothing happened in the place to excuse the conduct of the Germans. 

Extract from the nth Report of the Committee of Inquiry concerning the 
violations of the rules of war, dated 16th January, 191 5. 



Camus, Jules, Burgomaster, doctor of 

medicine, aged 64, father of a family. 
Gillet-Dumout. Lambert, factory overseer, 

aged 28, father of a family. 
Dozin-Dumont, Emile, independent, aged 

26, father of a family. 
Genicot, Joseph, father, merchant tailor, 

aged 52, father of a family. 
Genicot, L£on, sou, merchant tailor, aged 15. 
Demazy, Gustav, tenant, aged 50, bachelor. 
Demazy, Jules, confectioner, aged 51, 

bachelor. 
Li^geois, Jules, engineer, aged 51, father of 

a family. 
Roland, I^ou, trader in tobacco, aged 33, 

father of a family. 
Williame, leather dealer, aged 50, father of 

a family. 
Thys. Achille, harness maker, aged 51, 

father of a family. 
Bacus, Th^ophile, tenant, aged 43, father of 

a family. 
Bacus, L^ou, his son, blacksmith, aged 25, 

bachelor. 
Lasson, Eugene, father, manufacturer, aged 

62, father of a familj'. 
Lassou, Victor, son, manufacturer, aged 37, 

father of a family. 
De Barsy, Armand, manufacturer, aged 26, 

married. 
Davin. manufacturer, sheriff of the town, 

aged 37, father of a family. 
Davin, manufacturer, aged 38, bachelor. 
Davin, Auguste, manufacturer, aged 25, 

bachelor. 
Bolly. Louis, engineer, aged 33, father of a 

family. 
Lallemand, Prosper, glazier, aged 33, father 

of a family. 
Stellings, Auguste, tailor, aged 36, father of 

a family. 
Froidebise, Ferdinand, father, independent, 

aged 86 (killed while singing the "Mar- 
seillaise"). 
Froidebise, Ernest, son, engineer, aged 37, 

father of a family. 
Deschamps, Francois, plumber, aged 20, 

married. 
Walgraffe, Joseph, master plasterer, aged 54 

father of a family (had his head cut off; 

the head and body were afterwards thrown 

into the burning house). 
Polet, Alexandre, coffee house keeper, aged 

40, father of a family. 
Baras, Arthur, painter, aged 40, father of 

a family. 
De Bois, Maurice, manufacturer, aged 35, 

father of a family. 
Hamoir, chemist, aged 40, father of a family. 
Guilitte, Camille, father, chemist, aged 40, 

father of a family. 



jed by twenty German 
factory hand, aged 19, 



Guilitte, Fe'lix, brother, factory manager, 

aged 42, bachelor. 
Gulitte, Valere, sou, medical student (forced 

by the Germans to fetch from a cellar the 

bodies of his father and uncle). 
Lecharlier, F^licie, aged 50, housekeeper, 

mother of a family. 
Lecharlier, Maris, sister, aged 49, mother of 

a family. 
Hubeau, Florent, factory hand, aged 47, 

father of a family. 
Mine. Hubeau, his wife. 
Mile. Hubeau, his niece, aged 14, after 

having been 

soldiers. 
Cousin, Jules, 

bachelor. 
Cousin, Joseph, brother, factory hand, aged 

22, bachelor. 
Bertrand, Theoduly, master mason, aged 48, 

father of a family. 
Bertrand, Nestor, his son, mason, aged 19, 

bachelor. 
Noel, Jean, trader, aged 25, bachelor. 
Servais v Rene\ baker, aged 26, father of a 

family. 
Hella, Fulgence, father, aged 50, factory 

hand, father of a family. 
Hella, son, employe 1 , aged 20, bachelor. 
Debrun, Emmanuel, locksmith, aged 35, 

father of a family. 
Minne Z^nobe, glazier, aged 28, married. 
Gillard, Maximilien, workman, aged 55, 

bachelor. 
Jacquiere, Emile, father, collier, aged 50, 

father of a family. 
Jacquiere, son, aged 18, bachelor. 
Jacquiere, sou, aged 19, bachelor. 
Defrene, Eva, housekeeper, aged 40, mother 

of a family. 
Warzee, infant, aged six months. 
Titeux, Charles, factory hand, aged 55. 
Michel, Henri, trader, aged 45, father of a 

family. 
Ancelin, J., coffee house keeper, aged 45, 

married. 
Rabot, father, paper maker, aged 46, father 

of a family. 
Rabot. A., son, aged 16. 
Landenne, Armand, agent for coal, aged 58, 

father of a family. 
Reuliaux, Albert, student, aged 19, bachelor. 
Crossart, foreman, aged- 55, father of a 

family. 
Brissa, Emile, stationer, aged 52, father of a 

family. 
Genneret, Alexandre, father, carman, aged 

60, father of a family. 
Genneret, Jules, son. 
Rambeaux, Felix, trader, aged 42, father of 

a family. 



Rambeaux, Joseph, brother, trader, aged 48, 

married. 
Wascotte, surveyor, aged, 23, father of a 

family. 
Jacquiere, Jules, hotel keeper, aged 52, 

bachelor. 
Gilles, Florent, joiner, aged 21, bachelor. 
Mathieu, Jules, manufacturer, aged 63, ex- 
sheriff, father of a familv. 
Corneille, C, factory hand, aged 47, father 

of a family. 
Corneille, Le'on, joiner, aged 42, father of a 

family. 
Vivier, Jules barber, aged 31, father of a 

family. 
Laffut, Gustave, trader, aged 34, bachelor. 
Herode, Emile, brewer, aged 37, father of a 

family. 
Marcha'l, butcher, aged 35, bachelor. 
Gramtinne, Francois, father, butcher, aged 

45, father of a family. 
Gramtinne, son. student, aged 14. 
Fissette, Richard, University student, 

aged 18. 
Philippart, Jules, manufacturer, aged 32, 

married. 
Rasquiu, Antoine, road make 

father of a family. 
Lavigne, Maurice, butcher, aged 23. 
Heneffe, chemist, aged 45, father of a family. 
Lallemand, Adolphe, clerk, aged 43, bachelor 
Magis, Leon, shoemaker, aged 52, married. 
Renglet, Louis, blacksmith, aged 60, father 

of a family. 
Gaukemma, boatman, father of fourteen 

children. 
Braibant, Alfred, market gardener, aged 45, 

father of a family. 
Bouhisse, Jules, joiner, aged 19 bachelor. 
Beaujean, Alexandre, coachman, aged 70. 
Moreau, Constant, manufacturer, aged 51, 

father of a family. 
Tillieux, Emile, factory hand, aged 50, 

father of a family. 
Daenen, Anselme, manufacturer, aged 31, 

father of a family. 
Braibant. Isidore, merchant-butcher, aged 



aged 



26, 

Noel, Jean, trader, aged 26, bachelor. 
Hubeau, F.dmund, slaughterman, aged 54, 

father of a family (killed at a slaughter- 
house). 
Hubeau, his son, aged 19. 
Karel, L^on, veterinary surgeon, aged 64, 

father of a family. 
Damoiseaux, Joseph, factory hand, aged 46, 

father of a family. 
Godfroid, J., trader, aged 50, father of a 

family. 
Dereppe, J., manufacturer, aged 26, bachelor 
Moreau, Octave, cabinet maker, aged 38, 

bachelor. 



First list of 103 bodies exhumed and identified (with their approximate ages). 

Andenne is a small Wallonian town situated on the right bank of the Meuse, between Namur 
and Huy. A bridge joins it to the village of Seilles. It possessed a population of 7,800 souls. 
The German troops entered it on the 19th August, 1914. The massacres and pillage took place on 
the 20th, 21st and 22nd August. The massacres were principally the work of the 28th Regiment 
of Pioneers, under the orders of Colonel Schoenemann. 

5183 E 2 



( 68 ) 




Scenes of horror photographed at Andenne. 



THE MARTYRDOM OF ANDENNE. 

The German troops who were wishing to invade the territory on the left bank of the Meuse arrived at Andenne 
on Wednesday, rgth August, in the morning. Their advance guard of Uhlans found that the bridge was not available. 
A regiment of Belgian Infantry had blown it up at 8 o'clock on the same morning. The Uhlans retired after having 
seized the Communal cash box at Andenne and brutally maltreated the burgomaster, Dr. Camus, an old man of more 
than 70 years of age. The burgomaster had several days before taken the most minute precautions to prevent the population 
from engaging in hostilities. He had posted up everywhere placards ordering non-resistance. All firearms had 
been collected in the Hotel de Ville, and the local authorities had personally visited certain of the inhabitants to 
explain their duty to them. 

The main body of the German troops arrived at Andenne in the afternoon. The regiment halted in the town and 
outside it, waiting for the completion of a pontoon bridge, which was not finished till the following morning. The 
first contact between the troops and the people was quite pacific. The Germans ordered requisitions, which were 
satisfied. The soldiers at first paid for their purchases and for the drink which they served to them in the cafes. 
Towards the evening the situation began to grow more strained. Whether it was that discipline was getting relaxed, or 
that alcohol commenced to produce its effect, the soldiers ceased paying for what they were taking. The inhabitants were 
too scared to resist. No friction took place and the night was calm. 

On Thursday, the 20th August, the bridge was finished and the troops defiled through the town in great numbers 
in the direction of the left bank. The inhabitants watched them passing from their houses. Suddenly, at 6 o'clock in 
the evening, a single rifle shot was heard in the street, followed immediately by a startling explosion. The troops 
halted, their ranks fell into disorder, and nervous men fired haphazard. Presently a machine gun was set up at a 
corner and commenced to fire against the houses, and later a cannon dropped three shells into the town at three 
different points. 

At the first rifle shot the inhabitants of the streets through which the troops were defiling, guessing what might happen, 
took refuge in their cellars or, climbing out over the walls of their gardens, sought refuge in the open country or in 
distant cellars. A certain number of people who would not or could not make their escape were killed in their houses 
by shots fired from the street, or in some cases by soldiers who burst into their dwellings. 

Immediately afterwards commenced the pillage of the houses in the principal streets of the town. Every window 
shutter and door was broken in. Furniture was smashed and thrown out. The soldiers ran down into the cellars, 
got drunk there, breaking the bottles of wine that they could not carry away. Finally, a certain number of houses 
were set on fire. During the night rifle shooting broke out several times. The terrified population lay low in their 
cellars. 

Next day. Friday, the 21st August, at 4 o'clock in the morning, the soldiers spread themselves through the town, 
driving all the population into the streets and forcing men, women and children to march before them with their 
hands in the air. Those who did not obey with sufficient promptitude, or did not understand the order given them in 
German, were promptly knocked down. Those who tried to run away were shot. It was at this moment that 
Dr. Camus, against whom the Germans seem to have some special spite, was wounded by a rifle shot, and then 
finished off by a blow from an axe. His body was dragged along by the feet for some distance. A watchmaker, a 
Fleming by birth, who had lived for some time in the town, was coming out of his house on the order of the soldiers, 
supporting on his arm his father-in-law, an old man of 80. Naturally, therefore, he could not hold up both his hands. 
A soldier stepped up to him and struck him with an axe on the neck. He fell mortally wounded before his own door. 
His wife tried to bring him assistance, was pushed back into the house, and had to assist helplessly at the last agony 
of her husband. A soldier threatened to shoot her with his revolver if she crossed the door-sill. 

Meanwhile the whole population was being driven towards the Place des Tilleuls. Old men, the sick and the 
paralysed were all brought there. Some were drawn on wheel-chairs, others pushed on hand carts, others, again, 
borne up by their relations. The men were separated from the women and children, then all were searched, but no 
arms were found on them. One man had in his pocket some empty cartridge cases, both German and Belgian. He 
was immediately apprehended and set aside. So was a cobbler who had a wounded hand ; the wound was a month 
old. An engineer was also put apart because he had in his pocket a spanner which was considered as a weapon. 
Another man seems to have been arrested because his face showed his contempt and rage at what was going on. 
These people were shot in the presence of the crowd and all died bravely. 

Subsequently the soldiers, on the order of their officers, picked out of the mass some 40 or 50 men who were led 
off and all shot, some along the bank of the Meuse, and others in front of the Police Station. 

The rest of the men were kept for a long time in the Place. Among them lay two persons, one of whom had 
received a ball in the chest, and the other a bayonet wound. They lay face to the ground with blood from their 
wounds trickling into the dust, occasionally calling for water. The officers forbade their neighbours to give them any 
help. One soldier was reproved for having wished to give one of them his water bottle. Both died in the course of 
the day. 

While this scene was going on in the Place des Tilleuls, other soldiers spread themselves through the town, 
continuing their work of sack, pillage and arson. Eight men belonging to the same household were led out into a 
meadow some 50 yards from their dwelling, some of them were shot, the rest cut down with blows of an axe One 
tall, red-haired soldier with a scar on his face distinguished himself by the ferocity with which he used an axe. A 
young boy and a woman were shot. 

About 10 in the morning the officers told the women to withdraw, giving them the order to gather together the 
dead bodies and to wash away the stains of blood which defiled the street and the houses. About midday the 
surviving men to the number of 800 were shut up as hostages in three little houses near the bridge, but they were 
not allowed to go out of them on anv pretext, and were so crammed together that they could not even sit down on 
the floor. Soon these crowded buildings reached a highly insanitary condition. The women later in the day were 
allowed to bring food to their husbands. Many of them, fearing outrage, had fled from the Place. These hostages 
were not finally released till the Tuesday following. 

Text of the nth Report of the Committee of Inquiry. 



( 70 ) 



II est rappele aux irate- 
resses detenteurs deslistes 
d'exhunies (Serie A) que 
celles-ci doivent retitrer 
SANS AUCUN DELAI a 
1'Hote! de Ville. 

Des mesures risjoureu- 
ses pourraierst etre -prises 
centre ceox qyi n'obteitir 
pereraient pas a cet ordre 



A Dinanl'te 20 Octobre 1914. 

Le Bourgmestre ff., Fr. BRIBOSIA 



linutntlvc E JANOS Dn 



[translation.] 
TOWN OF DINANT. 



Persons holding lists of bodies exhumed (Series A) are 
reminded that these lists must be returned without delay to 
the Hotel de Ville. 

Severe measures may be taken against any person not 
complying with this official order of the German authorities. 
Dinant, 20th October, 1914. 

The Burgomaster, Fr. BRIBOSIA. 



Notice placarded at Dinant enjoining, by the official order 
of the German authority, all the holders of lists of bodies exhumed 
to hand them over to the military authority at the Hotel de Ville. 



( 7i ) 



WHOLESALE REPRISALS: MASSACRES AT DINANT. 



26 OLD MEN BETWEEN 65 AND 75 YEARS OF AGE. 

Edmond Manteaux, aged 71 ; Gustave Nicaise, 77 ; Leon Nicaise, 75 ; Felix Simonet, 73 ; 
Julien Disy, 68 ; Jules Jacquet, 65 ; Pierard Soume, 67 ; Alexandre Georges, 67 ; Emile Arres, 
67 ; Auguste Mathieu, 67 ; Francois Fastrez, 68 ; Jules Seghin, 68 ; Celestin Bon, 65 ; Charles 
Rouffiange, 68 ;. Felicien Genot, b\ ; Henri Georges, 68 ; Charles Bietlot, 76 ; Collard, 70 ; Victor 
Demacle, 69 ; Leopold Gonze, 66 ; Eugene Lehaye, 67 ; Alfred Gilain, 64 ; Emile Coupienne, 
64 ; Jules Monard, 70 ; Couillard, 70 ; Bouchat, 70. 



76 WOMEN. 

Mesdames Stevaux, aged 75; Marsigny, 23; Thonno Jadot, 80; Chabottier, 80 ; Delaete, 
Morelle, Anciaux, the widow Joris, Rasneu, Adrienne Piette, 74 ; the widow Jacquet, Leopoldine 
Monin, Pauline Fonder, aged 18 ; Josephine Lion, Eloise Boby, aged 23 ; Adele Bovy, aged 28 ; 
the wife of Bovy, nee Marie Defayse, Marie Schram ; the wife of Jules Materne ; the widow Henenne, 
Marie Pinsmaille ; her daughter Pinsmaille ; Marie Minet ; Nelly Rodrique ; Odille Fastres, Jeanne 
Bourdon (of Neffe) ; Felicie Pirlot ; Emma Raes, the wife of Bourdon ; Henriette Poncelet, the wife 
of Betemps ; Marie Martin ; Clothilde Bourguignon ; the wife of .Kinique ; Marthe Neaujot ; 
Marie Paquet ; Marie Diskeuve ; the wife of Paulet ; Louise Paulet : the widow Javaux ; Henriette 
Martin ; Louise Kinique, aged t8 ; the wife of Collard, aged 83 ; Eugenie Paulet, the wife of Struvay ; 
Gilda Genon ; Nelly Paulet ; Gilda Marchot ; Renee Dufrenne ; the wife of Bultot ; Victorine 
Delimoy ; the wife of Toussaint ; Leonie Bultot ; the wife of Joseph Guery ; Jeanne Lempereur ; Mane 
Guery ; the widow Even, aged 75 ; Georgette and Anna Charlier ; Charlotte Laloux ; the wife of 
Florin; Celine Toussaint; Therese .Dulieu ; the wife of Meura ; her three daughters Meura; 
Marguerite Gustin ; the girl Cajot ; the wife of Dauphin ; Henriette Roulin ; Germaine Roulin ; 
Juliette Herman. 



37 YOUNG BOYS AND LITTLE CHILDREN. 

Joseph Firmin, aged 16 ; Jules Vinstock, 15 ; Leon Colle, 16 ; Georges Collignon, 16 ; Vital Soree, 15 ; 
Maurice Broucoux, 16; Eugene Deloge, 15; Edmond Thibaut, 15; Alphonse Monin, 15; Louis 
Chabottier, 15; Marcel Hennuy, 15; Rene Mouton, 15 ; Georges Delaey, 14; Emile Nepper, 15; 
Constant Migeotte, 15; Georges Zwolden, 14; Eugene Goffin, 15; Jules Gaudinne, 16; Marcel 
Fonder, 15 ; Benjamen Louys, 15; Louis Ferret, 16; Marcel Bovy, 5; Rene Dupont, 10; Claire 
Struyvay, 2\ ; Felix Balleaux, 20 months ; Felix Fivet, 3 weeks ; Joseph Dupont, 8 years ; Jean 
Rodrique, 6 months ; X. Betemps, 2\ years; Edmond Bourguignon, 1^ years; Edmond Gustin, 3 years; 
Norbert Bultot, z\ years ; Micha (of Drehance), 1 year ; the son of Edmond Boudon, 1 6 years, his 
daughter, 13 years, Kinique, 11 years. 

Extracts from one of the lists of persons whose bodies were exhumed at Dinant. 
This list contains 612 names. The total number of victims is more than 800. 



( 72 ) 




The dead city of Dinant ; the scene of the worst massacre of all those of which the 
German Army was guilty in Belgium. 



( 73 ) 



THE MARTYRDOM OF DINANT. 



" On Friday, the 21st, about 9 o'clock in the evening, German troops coming down the road from 
Ciney entered the town by the Rue St. Jacques. On entering they began firing into the windows of 
the houses, and killed a workman who was returning to his own house, wounded another inhabitant, 
and forced him to cry ' Long live the Kaiser.' They bayoneted a third person in the stomach. They 
entered the cafes, seized the liquor, got drunk, and retired after having set fire to several houses and 
broken the doors and windows of others. The population was terrorised and stupefied, and shut itself 
up in its dwellings. 

Saturday, 22nd August, was a day of relative calm. All life, however, was at an end in the streets. 
Part of the inhabitants, guided by the instincts of self-preservation, fled into the neighbouring 
countryside. The rest, more attached to their homes, and rendered confident by the conviction that 
nothing had happened which could be interpreted as an act of hostility on their part, remained hidden 
in their houses. 

" On Sunday morning next, the 23rd, at 6.30 in the morning, soldiers of the 108th Regiment of 
Infantry invaded the Church of the Premonastrensian Fathers, drove out the congregation, separated 
the women from the men, and shot 50 of the latter. Between 7 and 9 the same morning the soldiers 
gave themselves up to pillage and arson, going from house to house and driving the inhabitants into 
the street. Those who tried to escape were shot. About 9 in the morning the soldiery, driving before 
them by blows from the butt ends of rifles men, women, and children, pushed them all into the Parade 
Square, where they were kept prisoners till 6 o'clock in the evening. The guard took pleasure in 
repeating to them that they would soon be shot. About 6 o'clock a captain separated the men from 
the women and children. The women were placed in front of a row of infantry soldiers, the men 
were ranged along a wall. The front rank of them were then told to kneel, the others remaining 
standing behind them. A platoon of soldiers drew up in face of these unhappy men. It was in vain 
that the women cried out for mercy for their husbands, sons, and brothers. The officer ordered his 
men to fire. There had been no enquiry nor any pretence of a trial. About 20 of the inhabitants 
were only wounded, but fell among the dead. The soldiers, to make sure, fired a new volley into the 
heap of them. Several citizens escaped this double discharge. They shammed dead for more than 
two hours, remaining motionless among the corpses, and when night fell succeeded in saving themselves 
in the hills. Eighty-four corpses were left on the Square, and buried in a neighbouring garden. 

"The day of 23rd August was made bloody by several more massacres. Soldiers discovered some 
inhabitants of the Faubourg St. Pierre in the cellars of a brewery there and shot them. 

" Since the previous evening a crowd of workmen belonging to the factory of M. Himmer had 
hidden themselves, along with their wives and children, in the cellars of the building. They had been 
joined there by many neighbours and several members of the family of their employer. About 6 o'clock 
in the evening these unhappy people made up their minds to come out of their refuge, and defiled 
trembling from the cellars with a white flag in front. They were immediately seized and violently 
attacked by the soldiers. Every man was shot on the spot. Almost all the men of the Faubourg de 
Leffe were executed en masse. In another part of the town 12 civilians were killed in a cellar. In the 
Rue en He a paralytic was shot in his armchair. In the Rue Enfer the soldiers killed a young boy of 14. 

" In the Faubourg de Neffe the viaduct of the railway was the scene of a bloody massacre. An 
old woman and all her children were killed in their cellar. A man of 65 years, his wife, his son and 
his daughter were shot against a wall. Other inhabitants of Neffe were taken in a barge as far as the 
rock of Bayard and shot there, among them a woman of 83 and her husband. 

" A certain number of men and women had been locked up in the Court of the Prison. At six in 
the evening a German machine gun, placed on the hill above, opened fire on them, and an old woman 
and three other persons were brought down." 

Text of the nth Report of the Committee of Inquiry. 



/' 



( 74 ) 
— y 




Glorieux XDartyrs be famines 

Jombes fcans la Jcvjrnee 5u 20 "Rout J9I4 




HOMAGE 

TO THE 

GLORIOUS MARTYRS OF TAMINES, 
Who fell on the day of the 20th August, 1914. 

List of 336 names of persons killed, including two priests and nine women, and of the names 
of 59 persons wounded. The list was published at Charleroi "By special permission." 



( 75 ) 



WHOLESALE REPRISALS: MASSACRES AT TAMINES. 

"About 5 o'clock on 21st August, the Germans carried the bridge of Tamines, crossed the River 
Sambre, and began defiling in mass through the streets of the village. About 8 o'clock the movement 
of troops stopped, and the soldiers penetrated into the houses, drove out the inhabitants, set themselves 
to sack the place, and then burnt it. The unfortunate peasants who stopped in the village were shot ; 
the rest fled from their houses. The greater part of them were arrested either on the night of the 
21st August or on the following morning. Pillage and burning continued all next day (22nd). 

" On the evening of the 22nd {Saturday) a group of between 400 and 450 men was collected in 
front of the Church, not far from the bank of the Sambre. A German detachment opened fire on 
them, but as the shooting was a slow business the officers ordered up a machine gun, which soon 
swept off all the unhappy peasants still left standing. 



'' Many of them 
were only wounded 
and, hoping to save 
their lives, got with 
difficulty on their feet 
again. They were im- 
mediately shot down. 
Many wounded still 
lay' among the 
corpses. Groans of 
pain and cries for 
help were heard in 
the bleeding heap. 
On several occasions 
soldiers walked up to 
such unhappy indi- 
viduals and stopped 
their groans with a 
bavonet thrust. At 
night some who still 
survived succeeded 
in crawling away. 
Others put an end to 
their own pain by 




Photograph taken at Tamines showing the 

bodies of persons who had been shot 

on the ruins of a burnt house. 



rolling themselves 
into the neighbouring 
river. 

" All these facts 
have been established 
by depositions made 
by wounded men 
who succeeded in 
escaping. About 100' 
bodies were found 
in the river . . . 

"... The 
Germans burnt, after 
sacking them, 264 
houses in Tamines. 
Many persons, in- 
cluding women and 
children, were burnt 
or stifled in their 
own homes. Many 
others were shot in 
the fields. The total 
number of victims 
was over 650. 



" The Commission of Enquiry devoted special attention to ascertaining whether the inhabitants 
of the village had fired on the German troops. Every surviving witness unanimously declared the 
contrary. They explained the massacre of their fellow- villagers by the fact that the Germans 
attributed to the inhabitants the shots which had been fired by the French skirmishers, or perhaps to 
the anger produced among the Germans by the success of an attack which had been made on them 
that night by the French troops." 

Report of the Committee of Inquiry concerning the violation of the rules of 
war, dated 16th January, 1915. 



Tamines is an industrial borough situated on the Sambre, between Charleroi and Namur. It had 
a population of 5,700 persons. The 77th German Regiment of Infantry, from Celle, met there on the 
10th and ->bth August the French troops which arrested its progress during two days on the Sambre. 
It was after the withdrawal of the French on the 20th, 21st and 22nd August that the massacres and 
pillage took place. 



( 76 ^ 




I.— The Square of St. Martin at 
Tamines (its present condition), 
where about 450 men were shot 
or bayoneted during the evening 
and night of Saturday, the 22nd 
August, 1914. (The white marks 
represent chloride of lime, which 
was spread over the place where 
bodies lay.) 



II. — Another corner of the 
Square. The small gate marked 
with a cross is the entrance to 
the garden where the victims 
were carried and buried by the 
survivors, by order of the German 
soldiers, on Sunday morning. The 
houses were pillaged and burnt 
from the 21st August, and several 
of their occupiers were burnt 
alive or shot in front of their 
doors. 





HI. — The Church of St. Martin 
and the old cemetery. The Sambre 
flows beside the Square. Several 
victims, wounded or simulating 
death, succeeded in escaping dur- 
ing the night by climbing across 
the bodies and swimming the 
river. Several were drowned. 
(The + indicates the cemetery 
where the bodies of the victims 
repose to-day.) 



77 ) 



THE MARTYRDOM OF TAMINES. 

" On reaching the Square the first thing that we saw was a mass of bodies of civilians extending 
over at least 40 yards in length by 6 yards in depth. They had evidently been drawn up in line 
to be shot. We were placed before these corpses, and were convinced that we too were to be shot. 

" An officer then came forward and asked for volunteers to dig trenches to bury these corpses. 
I and my brother-in-law and certain others offered ourselves. We were conducted to a neighbouring 
field at the side of the Square, where they made us dig a trench 15 yards long by 10 broad and 2 deep. 
Each received a spade. While we were digging the trenches soldiers with fixed bayonets gave us 
our orders. As I was much fatigued, through not being accustomed to digging, and faint from 
hunger, a soldier brought me a lighter spade, and afterwards filled a bucket of water for us to 
drink. I asked him if he knew what they were going to do with us. He said that he did not. By 
the time that the trenches were finished it was about noon. They then gave us some planks, on which 
we placed the corpses and so carried them to the trench. I recognised many of the persons whose 
bodies we were burying. Actually fathers buried the bodies of their sons and sons the bodies of then- 
fathers. The women of the village had been marched out into the Square, and saw us at our work. 
All round were the burnt houses. 

" There were in the Square both soldiers and officers. They were drinking champagne. The 
more the afternoon drew on the more they drank, and the more we were disposed to think that we 
were probably to be shot too. We buried from 350 to 400 bodies. A list of the names of the victims 
has been drawn up and will have been given to you (the Commissioners). 

" While some of us were carrying the corpses along I saw a case where they had stopped and 
called to a German doctor. They had noticed that the man whom they were conveying was still alive. 
The doctor examined the wounded man and made a sign that he was to be buried with the rest. The 
plank on which he was lying was borne on again, and I saw the wounded man raise his arm elbow- 
high. They called to the doctor again, but he made a gesture that he was to go into the trench with 
the others. 

" I saw M. X carrying off the body of his own son-in-law. He was able to take away his 

watch, but was not allowed to remove some papers which were on him. 

" When a soldier, seized with an impulse of pity, came near us, an officer immediately scolded 
him away. When all the bodies had been interred, certain wounded were brought to the Church. 
Officers consulted about them for some time. Four mounted officers came into the Square, and, after 
a long conversation, we with our wives and children were made to fall into marching order. We were 
taken through Tamines, amid the debris which obstructed the streets, and led to Vilaines between two 
ranks of soldiers. Think of our moral sufferings during this march ! We all thought that we were 
going to be shot in the presence of our wives and children. I saw German soldiers who could not 
refrain from bursting into tears, on seeing the despair of the women. One of our party was seized with 
an apoplectic fit from mere terror, and I saw many who fainted." 

Deposition of a witness before the Committee of Inquiry. 



( 78 ) 




The Station square at Louvain. A group of German officers and soldiers on the very spot where 
numbers of civilians were massacred on the 26th August. At the foot of the; statue of the Belgian 
diplomat Sylvain van de Weyer (who signed the Treaties of 1839) may be seen the heap of earth under 
which the victims were buried. 



" The depositions which relate to Louvain are numerous, and are believed by the Committee to 
present a true and fairly complete picture of the events of the 25th and 26th August and subsequent 
days. We find no grounds for thinking that the inhabitants fired upon the German army on the 
evening of the 25th August. Eye-witnesses, worthy of credence, detail exactly when, where, and how 
the firing commenced. Such firing was by Germans on Germans. No impartial tribunal could, in our 
opinion, come to any other conclusion. . . . 

" We are driven to the conclusion that the harrying of the villages in the district, the burning of a 
large part of Louvain, the massacres there, the marching out of the prisoners, and the transport to 
Cologne (all done without enquiry as to whether the particular persons seized or killed had committed 
any wrongful act), were due to a calculated policy carried out scientifically and deliberately, not 
merely with the sanction, but under the direction of higher military authorities, and were not due to 
any provocation or resistance by the civilian population." 



Extract from the Report of the English Committee of Inquiry. 



( 79 ) 



WHOLESALE REPRISALS: MASSACRES AT LOUVAIN. 

"On 14th January, 1915, the Reverend Father Valerius Claes, a Capuchin monk, who has already 
exhumed, in various parts of the town of Louvain, 96 bodies, opened the trench dug at the foot of the 
monument of Van de Weyer in the Station Square at Louvain. 

"There were present: MM. Alfred Nerincx, professor at the University, performing the duty of 
Burgomaster ; Dr. Louis Maldagne, professor at the University ; Dr. Dieudonne, Medical Officer ; the 
Examining Magistrate, Simons. The German Colonel Lubbeit, Military Commander of the town, and 
his aide de camp, subsequently joined the other members. All the streets adjoining the Square were 
guarded by the police. 

" Dr. Maldagne, recently returned from Germany, where he had been carried as a prisoner with 
several of his colleagues of the University, was a witness of the massacre of civilians in front of the 
station on the evening of the 26th August. The victims he saw were chosen indiscriminately and 
made to lie flat on the pavement. They were killed by a gun shot in the neck, the back or the head. 

" The bodies which were exhumed bore traces of bayonet wounds. Several in a state of advanced 
decomposition were unrecognisable. Madame Van Ertyck recognised her husband, aged 60, and her 
son, aged 27. The body of a boy of 15 was exhumed, together with those of Charles Munkemer, 
Edgard Bicquet, of Pensioner Major Bicquet, of A. van Gaer, O. Candreis and two women Mmes. A. 
Bruyninckx and Perilleux. 

" Under these bodies, in a second grave, seven others were discovered. On the following day the 
body of Henri Decorte was removed from a quite small grave, and the body, doubled up, of the 
Reverend M. Van Bladel, cure of Herent, near Louvain." 

After an eye-witness, correspondent of the Dutch Newspaper De Tyd. 

" Everywhere he was known for his devotion, and all his colleagues looked upon him as a saintly 
priest. He gave proof, during 33 years, of his love for you, and his anxiety for your spiritual and moral 
interest. It was for love of you that he went, in company with his beloved vicar, to meet the foreign 
soldiers, that he bowed respectfully and even bent the knee, so far as he could bring himself to do so, 
before them, praying and imploring them, not for himself, but in the hope that the army would spare 
his beloved parish and preserve your houses from incendiarism and destruction, and your persons from 
assassination. His presbytery and his garden offered you a refuge whilst he himself was seized and 
thrown on to a cart and carried to Louvain, and thence to Rotselaer, and from Rotselaer to Wesemael, 
and then again by Putkapel and Wilsele to Louvain, where he passed the whole of the night on his 
feet and in suffering, until that terrible moment when, after a calvary of three days, crying out in a loud 
voice, ' Injustice, injustice,' he was carried away by four soldiers to the scene of his martyrdom." 

Words spoken by His Eminence Cardinal Mercier at the public funeral of the 
Abbe Van Bladel, cure of Herent, held at Herent on 22nd March, 1915. 

" It is proved : 

" That there were in many parts of Belgium deliberate and systematically organised massacres of 
the civil population, accompanied by many isolated murders and other outrages. 

" That in the conduct of the war generally innocent civilians, both men and women, were murdered 
in large numbers, women violated, and children murdered." 

Conclusions of the Report of the English Committee. 



( 8o ) 



I. — House in Station 
Street at Louvain, on 
which a German mittrail- 
leuse opened fire. 




III. — A school, the door 
of which was broken with 
a hatchet, and which was 
burned from top to bottom. 



( 8i ) 

THE MARTYRDOM OF LOUVAIN 

(according to a neutral witness). 

" The vanguard of the Army of Von Kluck occupied Louvain, without striking a blow, on the 3rd August at noon. The 
first error to rectify is the following : Louvain was not bombarded. There was no fighting, except in the direction of 
Tirlemont and Dieste to the north and south of Louvain. The destruction of this town was carried out deliberately by a 
company of incendiarists seven days after its occupation. The commander of the place who gave the orders was named 
Manteuffel, and it was the 52nd Regiment of Infantry which was established there during these early days. 

" The burning began at half-past seven in the evening of the 25th August. Whilst the town was burning on all sides 
the Germans shot the unfortunate people as they fled from their burning houses. It was a night of unimaginable horror. 
Most of the inhabitants, however, succeeded in escaping by the courtyards and gardens. I myself succeeded in doing so 
when, about midnight, the houses adjoining the one which I occupied in Juste Lipse Street began to blaze. 

" The following morning I was taken prisoner and conducted to the station at about 10 o'clock. 

" With me was a Spaniard, Father Catala, Spanish Vice-Consul, who had been for some little time principal of a college 
in Station Street, which had been burnt down, in spite of the Spanish flag flying over its door. The first group of prisoners, 
from 70 to 80 in number, included some distinguished persons, advocates, medical men, &c. Five of us were foreigners, 
Father Catala, three young Spaniards, and myself. We were placed in files of four, surrounded by soldiers, who insulted 
us and treated us in a brutal manner. At the beginning of the Station Street there was a corpse partially carbonised. In 
the corridors of the station were lying fifteen or twenty bodies of civilians who had been shot. The town, especially in this 
quarter, was enveloped in smoke and flames. These were days of indescribable terror. 

" I had in my hand my passport proving my foreign nationality. I was looking- for a means of saving myself from the 
death that I felt was threatening, for the German soldiers, as well as officers were, at that moment, no longer men but 
ferocious beasts. God alone could, by a miracle, save us. They did not wish to hear anything about my passport. Every 
time that I tried to prove my innocence and my American nationality the officers threatened and struck me. When I saw 
that all was useless I resigned myself and prepared for death. My companions did the same. . ... 

" Towards eleven o'clock they began to conduct us towards Malines, in the environs of which fighting was going on 
between Belgians and Germans. To the right and left of the road everything was in flames. At Heront, five kilometres from 
Louvain, I saw in a corner of the wall the body of a little girl of 12 or 13 years of age burned alive. We were terribly ill- 
treated during the whole of the journey whether we were made to run or to stop, or to walk slowly, it was all by blows with 
a sabre, the butt end of a rifle or a lance. We were kicked and spat upon, and, O my God ! to what insolence we were 
subjected ! I supported a sick old man who dragged himself along with the help of my arm in order to escape death, for if 
he had stopped he would have been pierced by a bayonet or shot by a bullet. We glanced towards one another from time 
to time in a state of stupefaction at such barbarity. At length we arrived in a field nine or ten kilometres from Louvain. 
There a halt was made and an officer told us that we were about to be shot. When I repeated to him that I was a South 
American, as was proved by my passport, he cried out, with fire flashing from his eyes, that it was I who would be shot the 
first 'because I had kept concealed in mv church mitrailleuses and other arms.' He ordered me to hold my tongue. They 
then tied our hands behind our backs with our own handkerchiefs. The soldiers drew themselves up in line and every 
preparation was made for our execution, and we were left there for a quarter of an hour with death staring us in the face. 

" Presently we were divided again into groups, with our hands still bound, with the soldiers drawn up in front of us as 
shooting parties, and we were then made to proceed through the fields from village to village towards the Belgian lines. 

" . . . At nightfall we arrived at Campenhout, where we passed the night imprisoned in the church where fighting 
was going on all round. The following day Father Catala, the three young Spaniards and myself were set at liberty. It 
was after 'innumerable difficulties we succeeded in reaching Brussels at noon on the 27th August. The other persons, all of 
whom were Belgians, continued their journey, always in front of the infantry, as far as Malines, where they were finally set 
at liberty. 

" The remaining inhabitants of Louvain were no better treated. Many were conducted as prisoners into the interior of 
Germany (Munsteiiagen). Several thousands were dragged as far as Tirelmont. Thousands of others passed a whole week 
in the woods, living only on potatoes which they gathered in the fields. During the 27th, 28th and 29th August, Louvain 
remained denuded of its inhabitants and the Germans seized the occasion to pillage systematically house after house, 
everything in fact which had not been burned, so that the families which subsequently returned, if their dwellings were still 
standing, found nothing but the walls. 

" What the Germans have done at Louvain, and in the whole of Belgium, is indescribable. A narrative of these events 
would fill volumes. As for myself, since God has saved my life, I am pleased to have been able to be in a position to see 
and verify all those iniquitous doings which cover with opprobrium German militarism, of which many other foreigners 
have been witnesses, if indeed they have not been the victims, and amongst them South Americans, Uruguayans, Brazilians, 
Colombians, &c, who are able to testify, like myself, to the truth. 

"MANUEL GAMARRA, 

" Paraguayan Priest, student at Louvain." 

Letter addressed to the Belgian Minister at Buenos Ayres, published in the Courier de la Plata and 
the Argentina of the 4th March, 1915. 

5183 F 



( 82 ) 



1 
j 






t 

Le College des Proviseurs de Saint-Julie* 










des-Belges a i'honneur de vous inciter au 










service rcligieux qu'il fern celebrer le Ven- 










dredi 22 Janoier, a I! hemes, pour le repos 










de fame des Prilres et Religieux-, mis a 






HjjL. 




mort par les troupes allemandes au cours de 






T 




['invasion de la Belgique. 

Vous en trouverez ci-ccntre une premiere 
fete. 

A cause de fexigu'tte de I'Eglise Nationals 
le service religieux aura lieu dans /'elGLISE 
DES STIGMATES, a Vangle de la Via dei 
Cestari et du Corso Vittorio Emanuele. 

Le President 
BARON D'ERP. MiniatK de Belg.que pre* le Saint-Siege 

Le Secretaire: 
C. DE rSERCLAES. President du College Beige 

M. VAES. Recteur de Samt-Julien-des-Belces 

OSCAR BOLLE. 

C KURTH. Directeur de I'lnstitut histonque Beige 




1 






A. P0TT1ER. Chano.ne de Sa.n.c-Mar.e-Majeure 






DIOCESE DE LIEGE. 


DIOCESE DE NAMUR. 






L'abbe 0. ChaBOT. cure de Fbret 


H L abb, J Alexandre, curi de Muair-la-ViUa 






L'abbe J. DOSSOCNE. cure de Hockay 


B Labbe A. AmUROiSE. tnre d'Onhaye 






L'abbe F. Janssen. cure de Heure-le-Romr 


B L'abbe Bilaude. aumoniei dea aourds-mueta a Bouge 






L'abbe R. LabEYE. cure de Blegny 


Hj L'abbe BuaniaUa-. proleiieur au College Saint'- Loun 






L'abbe B. RenSONNET. v.ca.re d'Olne. 








L'abbe E. Tielek cure de Haccouri. 


H L abbe Doco. prolesaenr en College de .Virion. 

Hj Labbe C Co». prole. leor an College de Belle-Vue 






DIOCESE DE MAUNES. 


a Dinani 
H L'abbe J CeorcES. ture de Tmligny 








H Labbe P ClLLE. docieur.cn Theologie de I'Universite 






L'abb* R- CaRETTE. profeiieur au College Saint-Pierre a 


Cregor.cnne. ..ca.re de Cou»,n 






Lou vain 


B L'abbC Clokden. cure de Latour 






L'abbe H. De Clerk, cure de Biieker.. pre* de Louva.n. 


B L'abbe HottlET, cure de Ler Allou. 






L'abbe P. Dercent. cure de Celrode. 








L'abbe J- Corns, cure de Auitjarden 






L'abbe E LOMBAEBTS. cure de Bovenloo. preide Louvain 


gjjj Labbe Patron, vicaire de Deurv 






L'abbe Van Bladel. cure de Hcram. ores de Louva.n 


B Labbe P.ERET ..ra.re d'Elalle 

Eg L'airbe Pierrarc cure de Chai.llon 






Le R. P DupiERBEUX. jeauile de Uuvam 






Le R P VlNCENT SoMBRQEK. Conventual, de Louvain 


B L'abbe PlRtr. core d'Anlhee 






U R P V«N HoLMEN. capucin. de Louvain 






L* R Chanome-Premonire J WouTEBS. cure de Pont- 
Brule 


H Labbe E Scm.bCEL. enre de Haal.erea 












U Frere Allard -(dans le monde F Forger), religieui 
U Frtre Se^astien (dans le monde. Mr. Straatman). rj.i- 


B L. R P CiLLIT benediiun de 1 abbaye de Maredsoua 






OS Le Cbanomc Nicolas, de 1 abbaye des Prcmonlrca de 
LeSe 














thlUMkl^^l^ | a ^ N gST[^ 1 






DIOCESE DE TO0RNA1 B ' p ™l"" t '„„ t°\vlZ',L°Lihlv^Z' dc Lou"™! B 




L'abbe .£. Dmicr. o,i d'Aco. '""'"' "" '" """*' "" cm "" 1 "' 




L ». ,.»*«. .,*,«. r j 










-"~ — -« 





A considerable number of priests and Catholic monks were killed by the 
Germans in Belgium. The Committee of Enquiry is not yet in possession of a 
complete list, but will publish it as soon as it has been possible to draw it up. 
Above in facsimile is the invitation to the religious service celebrated at Rome, 
on 22nd January, on behalf of the priests and monks put to death by the 
German troops. An initial list of victims is affixed to this invitation . . . 



( 8 3 ) 
THE LIFE OF INDIVIDUALS: PRIESTS PUT TO DEATH. 

" Hundreds of innocent men were shot. I possess no complete necrology ; but I know that there 
were ninety-one shot at Aerschot, and that there, under pain of death, their fellow citizens were 
compelled to dig their graves. In the Louvain group of communes one hundred and seventy-six 
persons, men and women, old men and sucklings, rich and poor, in health and in sickness, were shot or 
burnt. 

"In my diocese alone I know that thirteen priests or religious were put to death, (i) One of these, the 
parish priest of Gelrode, suffered, I believe, a veritable martyrdom. I made a pilgrimage to his grave, 
and, amid the little flock, which so lately he had been feeding with the zeal of an apostle, there did I 
pray to him that from the height of Heaven he would guard his parish, his diocese, his country. 

" We can neither number our dead nor compute the measure of our ruins. And what would it be 
if we turned our sad steps towards Liege, Namur, Audenne, Dinant, Tamines, Charleroi, and 
elsewhere ? 

"Their brothers in religion or in the priesthood will wish to know their names. Here they 
are : Dupierreux. of the Society of Jesus ; Brothers Sebastian and Allard of the Congregation of the 
Josephites ; Brother Candide of the Congregation of the Brothers of Mercy ; Father Maximin, Capuchin, 
and Father Vincent, Conventual ; Lombaerts, parish priest at Boven-Loo ; Goris, parish priest at 
Autgaerden ; Caiette, professor at the Episcopal college.of Lovvain ; De Clerck, parish priest atBueken ; 
Dergent, parish priest at Gelrode ; Waiters Jean, parish priest at Pont -Brule. We have reason to 
believe that the parish priest of Herent, Van Blade], an old man of seventy-one, was also killed ; until 
now, however, his body has not been found. 

" (2) I have said that thirteen ecclesiastics had been shot within the diocese of Malines. There 
were, to my own actual personal knowledge, more than thirty in the dioceses of Namur, Toumai, and 
Liege : Schlagel, parish priest of Hastiere ; Gille, parish priest of Couvin ; Pieret, curate at Etalle ; 
Alexandre, curate at Mussy-la-Ville ; Marechal, seminarist at Maissin ; the Reverend Father Gillet, 
Benedictine of Maredsous ; the Reverend Father Nicolas, Premonstratensian of the Abbey of Leffe ; 
two Brothers of the same Abbey ; one Brother of the Congregation of Oblates ; Poskin, parish priest of 
Surice ; Hotlet, parish priest of Les Alloux ; Georges, parish priest of Tintigny ; Glouden, parish priest 
of Latour ; Zenden, retired parish priest at Latour ; Jacques, a priest ; Druet, parish priest of Acoz ; 
Pollart, parish priest of Roselies ; Labeve, parish priest of Blegny-Trembleur ; Thielen, parish priest of 
Haccourt ; Janssen, parish priest of Heure le Romain ; Chabot, parish priest of Foret ; Dossogne, parish 
priest of Hockay ; Reusonnet, curate of Olme ; Bilande, chaplain of the institute of deaf-mutes at Bouge ; 
Docq, a priest, and others." 

Extract from the Pastoral Letter of Cardinal Mercier (Christmas, 1914). 

" At Christmas, when I issued my Pastoral Letter, I did not know with certainty of the fate of the 
Cure of Herent ; since then his body has been recovered at Louvain and identified. 

" Further, the numbers quoted in my Pastoral Letter should at the present date be revised. Thus, 
with regard to Aerschot, I gave the number of victims as 91. As a matter of fact the total number of 
inhabitants of Aerschot whose bodies have been recovered amounted, some days ago, to 143. The 
moment, however, to dwell on these particulars has not yet arrived. Their recital will be more in 
place at the enquiry for which you have enabled me to hope. 

" I shall, indeed, be glad to see full light thrown on the incidents to which I have felt compelled 
to call attention in my Pastoral Letter and on others of a similar nature. 

" It is essential, however, that the results of the enquiry should bear the seal of indisputable 
authority. With this object in view I have the honour to propose to you, Monsieur le Comte, and, 
through you, to the German authorities, that the Committee of Enquiry be composed equally of 
German delegates and Belgian magistrates, and that it should be presided over by the representative 
of a neutral Power. I am happy to think that His Excellency the Minister of the United States 
would not refuse either to accept the position of Chairman or to entrust it to a delegate of his choice." 

Extract from a letter written by Cardinal Mercier, elated 24th January, 191 5, to Colonel 
Comte Wengersky, District Commander at Malines. No steps appear to have been 
taken in consequence of this letter. 



THE INNOCENT VICTIM : A CHALLENGE TO THE 
CONQUEROR 

The Legend of the " Francs-tire urs." 

"We assert, with all the inhabitants of our villages, without exception, and with the whole Belgian population, that the 
story of the Belgian francs-tireurs is a legend, an invention, a calumny. 

" It is evident that the German army trod the Belgian soil and carried out the invasion with the preconceived idea that 
it would meet with bands of this sort, a reminiscence of the war of 1870. But German imagination will not suffice to create 
that which does not exist. 

" There never existed a single body 0) francs-tireurs in Belgium. 

" This is so certain that we have no hesitation in solemnfy challenging the German authorities to prove the existence of 
a single band of francs-tireurs formed either before or after the invasion of the territory. 

" No ' isolated instance ' even is known of civilians having fired upon the troops, although there would have been no occasion 
for surprise if any individual person had committed an excess. In several of our villages the population was exterminated 
because, as the military authorities alleged, a major had been killed or a young girl had attempted to kill an officer, and so 
forth. . . . ' In no case has an alleged culprit been discovered and designated by name.' 

"Let them not think that they can alter the truth by means of those general and stereotyped assertions which were made 
first of all in the villages on the passage of the troops and which subsequently went the round of the German press and are 
now paraded in a form of German literature which can only be qualified as ignoble, with photographs of alleged scenes in 
which francs-tireurs have taken part. 

" Facts should be cited and proofs given. Where is a village or a house from which a Belgian fired on soldiers ? What 
is the name of the Belgian civilian who was caught with arms in his hand ? Who are the witnesses heard by hundreds and 
on their oath ? 

" Let an enquiry he organised on these data, such as been so often proposed ; an enquiry conducted by Belgian and 
German delegates and presided over by a neutral president. 

"A one-sided enquiry, such as is being carried on at the present moment by the German authorities, has no authoritative 
value. Its results must be rejected in advance. It does not contain the necessary conditions to ensure impartiality. The 
depositions it contains are vitiated by intimidation or the absence of freedom. It is not even certain that these depositions 
will be faithfully registered, the witnesses having to sign their declarations drawn up in a language which is foreign to them. 

"The Belgian people, confident in the absolute truth and justice of their cause, has no misgivings whatever as to the 
result of a serious enquiry. Meanwhile, they are, and will not cease to proclaim themselves, innocent." 

The reality of German Atrocities. 

"Let us however accept for one moment, not by way of admission, but of supposition, this hypothesis of a legitimate 
repression of francs-tireurs. We assert that it will be made clear, by the examination of each particular instance of the 
destruction of a village and the extermination of the civilians, that the punishment is so greatly out of proportion to the 
alleged crime that it could not be justified by any kind of argument. Such are the events that happened at Andenne, Tamines, 
Dinant, Leffe, Neffe, Spontin, Surice, Ethe, Tintigny, Houdemont, and many other places, events so abominable that they will 
one day rouse the conscience of the whole world, and that one day a sense of justice in Germany itself will stigmatise them in 
scathing terms when she has a true knowledge of the facts, and has recovered her equanimity. 

" Further, still on the supposition that what took place, in certain parts at least, was merely the repression of francs-tireurs, 
what civilised mind would dare to justify, on behalf of soldiers, the following acts : the infliction in some cases of blows and 
wounds, atrocities of all kinds, barbarities and sanguinary methods, cruel and infamous treatment, on mere hostages or prisoners ; 
the despatch of the wounded, the shooting of peaceful and unarmed civilians, pillage by armed men to an extent almost in- 
credible, the employment of priests, young people, old men, women and children as a shield against the bullets and shells of the 
enemy ; the imputation to the civil population of acts of war for which Belgian or French soldiers were legitimately responsible, and 
the severe punishment inflicted on the population in consequence thereof'; summary executions by shooting, without any form of 
enquiry or regular sentence, extermination of entire families and even villages ; incendiarism in more than 200 villages of the 
two provinces, independently of the destruction caused by the fighting ; moral torture inflicted on persons of weak constitution and 
sometimes upon whole populations. Outrage and murders of women, young girls, and children at the breast. . . 

" Now these crimes are so numerous that one or another of them and often all of them at once, have been committed in 
hundreds of our villages. 

" An impression of dismay and horror provoked by these barbarities remains with those of our population who have 
lived through these terrible events and have suffered on account of them in a way which it is impossible to describe. It is, 
they say, a monstrous war, carried on, not against soldiers, but against unarmed civilians. They have one and all forgotten 
the events, horrible as they are in themselves, of the war properly so called, and remember only the sufferings during less 
than a week by an entire population unarmed, terror-stricken, and given up to the mercy of ferocious soldiers. It has been 
said (but can it be true ?) that the number of civilians killed is not far behind that of soldiers who have fallen in battle. It 
is astonishing indeed that there have not been still more victims, and we cannot but admire the ingenuity with which the 
inhabitants of -such localities as Dinant, Tamines, Spontin, Houdemont and numerous villages lying between the Sambre and 
the Meuse escaped to the full extent of the destruction to which they had been doomed. 

" Millions of eye-witnesses are ready to affirm these facts upon oath as soon as the regular committee of enquiry shall 
have been appointed." 

Extracts from the protest addressed to the German authorities by His Eminence Monsignor Heylen 
Bishop of Namur (provinces of Namur and Luxembourg), 10th April, 1915. 



( »5 ) 



THE CONFESSION OF THEORISTS, OF LEADERS 
AND OF SOLDIERS. 



" A war energetically carried on cannot be entirely confined to acts against the enemy under arms 
and his means of defence, but it will tend, and should tend, also to cause the destruction of his 
material and moral resources. No consideration can be given to the dictates of humanity, siich as 
consideration for persons or property, unless they are in accordance with the nature and the object of 
the war." 

Introduction to the Kriegsgebranch im Landkricge, a manual published by 

the German General Staff. 



( 86 ) 



In overeensteiiuiiing met de hooj>ere duitsche 
militaire overheden, lieb ik de eer l opnieuw aan 
te bevelen U te outbnuden van alle uitdagende 
inanifestatien en van alle vijandelijke akten welke 
onze stad aan •>ru\velijke weenvraak zouden Moot- 
stellen. 

Gij zult a vooral onthoudem van alle 
mishandelin^en jejjens de duitsche 
troepen en bijzonder op luin te schieten. 

In pal de inwoners op k m\Mm ra let cSeaitscEea 
leper zouden schieten, zal lief derde dee! der mannelijke 
bevolking door de wapens omgebracht wordsn. 

//■ hertnner u dat de rerzame/inqeii ran uieer dan 
'Of peisonen ten streni/sle rerboden z'tjn en dot de 
peisonen die ami dit rer/tod zouden te kori b/ijven, 
oniniddellijk zitfteii rtant/e/ioiiden nor den. 



Hasselt, den I* Augustus 1014. 



i>c [turvnueester. 

F.ERJ). PORTMANS. 



Chers Concitoysns, 



D'aeeord avec l'autorite militaire superieure alle- 
mande.j'ai l'honneurdevous recoiiiinander a nouveau 
de vous abstenir de toute manifestation provocante 
et de tons actes d'hostilite qui pourraient attirer a 
notre a illc de terribles represailles. 

Vous vous abstiendrez surtout de 
sevices contre les troupes allemandes et 
nota.ni men t de tirer sur elles. 



tireraient sur 

tiers lie 



Bans le cas oil lis tit 
soldats k I'srmes aSleiaiis, 
ii!@ sera passe par les armes. 

Je rons rappet/e que les rassemblements de plus de 
cha/ personnels -soul striclement defendus et que les 
personnels qui eontreriendraient a cette defense, seront 
arretes seance tenanle. 



Hasselt, le 17 aout 1914. 



Le Bonr^mestre, 

Ferd. PORTMANS. 



Notice posted on the walls of the town of Hasselt by order of the German military authorities. 



Translation. 
" Fellow Citizens, 

" I, in agreement with the German Higher Military Authorities, have the honour again to request 
you to abstain from any provocative manifestations, and from all hostile acts which might bring terrible 
punishment on our City. 

" You will above all abstain from all acts of cruelty towards the German troops, and particularly 
from firing on them. 

" In the case of civilians shooting on the German army, a third of the male population will be shot. 
" I remind you that the assembling of more than five persons together is strictly forbidden, and 
that those who break this rule will be arrested on the spot. 
"Hasselt, 17th August, 191a. 

"FERD. PORTMANS, 

" Burgomaster." 



THE SYSTEM OF TERRORISM AND ITS PRINCIPLES. 

" Ruthlessly to employ llic necessary means of defence and intimidation is not only a right but a duly for 
every commander of an army." 

Kriegsgebrauch im Landkreig, a manual recommended to the officers, p. 115, 
published in 1902. 

" An officer will realise that wai necessarily entails a certain severity, and still more that the only true 
humanity resides in the ruthless employment of such severity.'' 

Kriegsgebrauch im Landkrieg, p. 7. 

" These are voluntary and deliberate violations of the rules of war, bid they were only a result of trans- 
gressions already committed by the enemy. They therefore appear to us, in spite of their horror, to have been 
forced upon us and to be in conformity with international law, and a threat against further transgressions." 

Dr. Karl Strupp, Das Internationale Laudsgrie^srechl, p. 9, published in 
1914. 

" The whole town is guilty of the acts of every one of its inhabitants." 

Dr. Karl Strupp, Das Internationale Landsgriegsrecht, p. 248. 

" The only means of preventing surprise attacks on the part of the population was to exhibit pitiless 
severity and to make examples which, by virtue of their terrifying character, would act as a warning to the 
whole country." 

German official message communicated by wireless telegraphy, 27th August, 
1 9 14. 

" The innocent must suffer with the guilty or, if the latter cannot be discovered, the innocent must 
pay the penalty for the guilty, not because they have committed a crime, but to prevent the commission 
of crimes. The burning of a village, the execution of hostages, the decimation of the inhabitants of 
a commune, who have taken up arms against the advancing troops, are less acts of vengeance than 
signs of warning to the parts of the territory not yet occupied. 

" And it is beyond doubt that the destruction by fire of Battice, Herve, Louvain and Dinant has 
acted as a warning signal. The devastations and the rivers of blood which flowed during the first days 
of the war in Belgium saved the great Belgian towns from the temptation to attack the weak armies 
of occupation which we had to leave there. Is there anybody in the world who would imagine that 
the capital of Belgium would have tolerated us, we who live to-day at Brussels as if it were in our 
own country, had the population not trembled, and were they not still trembling, before our vengeance." 

Extract from an article in the Kolnische Zeitung of 10th February, 1915, signed 
by Walter Bloem. 

" Experience has shown that a contribution in money produces the greatest effect on a civil 
population." 

Kricgsi'cbrauch im Landskriege. 



( 88 ) 



LE 22 AOUT 1914- 




Translation. 




Les habitants de la ville d Andenne. apres 
avoir proteste de leurs intentions pacifiques. 
ont fait une surprise traitre sur ncs troupes. 
C'est avec mon consentement que le General 
en chef a fait briiler toute la localite et que 
cent personnes environ ont ete fusillees. 

Je porte ce fait a la connaissance de la Ville 
de Liege pour que les Liegeois se representent 
le sort dont ils sont menaces, sils prenaient 
pareille attitude. 

Ensuite. il a ete trouve dans un magasin 
d amies a Huy des projectiles « dnm-dum » clans 
le genre du specimen joint a la presente lettre. 
Au cas que cela arrivat. on demandera rigou- 
reusement compte chaq'ue fois des personnes 
en question. 

Le General -Commandant. en chef 
s von BULOW 



Armee-Oberkommaxdo. 22nd August, 1914. 

TO THE COMMUNAL AUTHORITIES 
TO THE TOWN OF LIEGE. 

The inhabitants of the town of Andenne, 
after having protested their peaceful inten- 
tions, made a treacherous surprise attack on 
our troops. 

It was with my consent that the General 
had the whole place burnt down, and about 
100 people shot. 

I bring this fact to the knowledge of the 
town of Liege, so that its inhabitants may 
know the fate with which they are threatened, 
if they take up a similar attitude. 

Dum-dum projectiles were subsequently 
found in a gun-smith's shop at Huy, of a kind 
of which I send you a specimen in the present 
document. If this happens it will be necessary 
to call the persons in question to account. 

The General Commanding-in-Chief, 
von BULOW. 



Notice posted on the walls of Liege on the 24th August. 



( 3 9 ) 



WHOLESALE REPRESSION: ITS FORMULAS. 

" A fine of 600,000 marks in consequence of an attempt made by . . . to assassinate a German 
soldier, is imposed on the town of O. by order of . . . 

" Efforts have been made, without result, to obtain the withdrawal or reduction of the fine. 

"The term fixed for payment expires to-morrow, Saturday, the 17th December, at noon. 

" Bank notes, cash, or silver plate will be accepted." 



" The German authorities, having exacted a war contribution of 2 millions of francs from the town 
of M . . . on account of the inhabitants having fired on the troops at the time of their entry into 
the town, and the municipality having stated that it does not possess the necessary funds and cannot 
raise them among the inhabitants, the German authorities require a settlement in bills of exchange." 



" I have to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated the 7th of this month, in which you bring to 
my notice the great difficulty which you expect to meet in levying the contributions ... I can but 
regret the explanations which you have thought proper to give me on this subject; the order in 
question which emanates from my Government is so clear and precise, and the instructions which I 
have received in the matter are so categorical that if the sum due by the town of R. is not paid the town 
will be burned down without pity." 



" On account of the destruction of the Bridge of F.—I order : The district will pay a special contribution 
of 10 million francs by way of amends. This is brought to the notice of the public who are informed that the 
method of assessment will he notified later and that the payment of the said sum will be enforced ivith the 
utmost severity. The village of F. will be immediately destroyed by fire, with the exception of certain buildings 
occupied for the use of the troops." 

Extracts from Vlnterpreie militaire zum gebrauch in Feineesland (for use in the 
enemy's country). Manual edited at Berlin in 1906. " It contains," says the 
introduction, "the French text of the greater part of the documents, letters, 
proclamations and certain orders of which it may be necessary to make use in 
time of war." 



( 9° ) 




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[Translation.] 

NOTICE. 
A court-martial, legally convoked, pr 
nounced, on the 28th October, 1914, tl 
following sentences : — 

(1) On policeman de Ryckere, f ; 
having assaulted in the lawful exercise 
his duties a regularly appointed agent 
the German authorities, and for causii 
him bodily injury on two occasions 1 
the aid of other persons, and for havii 
brought about the escape of a prison 
on one occasion, and for having assaulu 
a German soldier, 

5 years' imprisonment. 

(2) On policeman Seghers, for havii 
assaulted in the lawful execution of h 
duties a regularly appointed agent of tf 
German authorities, and for causir 
bodily harm to this same German ager, 
and for having brought about the escaji 
of the prisoner, all these charges formir! 
a single offence, 

3 years' imprisonment. 

The sentences were confirmed on 31. 
October, 1914, by the Governor Geneq 
Baron Von der Goltz. 

The town of Brussels, not including ttl 
suburbs, is ordered on account of ti 
crime committed by one of its policemei 
de Ryckere, committed on a Germa 
soldier, to pay an additional contribute 
of 5,000,000 francs. 

Brussels, 1st November, 1914. 
The Governor of Brussels. 

Baron VON LUTTWIT] 



[Translation.'] 
NOTICE. 

On the evening of the 25th Septembc 
the railway and the telegraph wires we 
destroyed on the Lovenjoul-Vertryi 
line. The two localities above-mentions 
were, on the morning of the 30th Sej 
tember, called to account for this art 
were compelled to deliver hostages, j 

In future, the localities situated nearel 
to the spot where such offences tall 
place, whether they are privy thereto j 
not, will be most severely punished. 11 
this end hostages have been taken froJ 
all the localities adjoining the railway 
threatened with such attacks, who, at thj 
first attempt to destroy railway lines cj 
the telegraph or the' telephone wire! 
will be immediately shot. 

Further, all Troops guarding railwajj 
have received orders to shoot any persot 
approaching in a suspicious manner thf 
railways or telegraph or telephone wires 

Brussels, 1st October, 1914. 

Governor General of Belgium, 

Baron VON DER GOLT^ 
Fieldmarshal. 



Notices posted at Brussels on the 1st October and 1st November, 1914. 



( 91 ) 



REPRISALS : THE APPLICATION OF PRINCIPLES AND 
EMPLOYMENT OF " FORMULAS." 

GENERAL GOVERNMENT IN BELGIUM. 

" It has happened in districts at present occupied by more or less strong bodies of German troops 
that convoys of waggons and of patrols have been attacked by surprise by the inhabitants. 

" I draw the attention of the public to the fact that a 'register' is kept of the localities, in the 
neighbourhood of which such attacks have taken place, and that they may expect their punishment as 
soon as the German troops pass near them. 
" Brussels, 25th September, 1914. 

" The Governor-General of Belgium, 

" BARON VON DER GOLTZ, 

" Fieldmarshal." 

Proclamation posted at Brussels on the 25th September, 1914. 

" On 22nd August, 1914, the General Commanding the 2nd Army, General von Biilow, imposed on 
the town of Wavre a war levy of frs. 3,000,000 (^120,000), payable up till 1st September, to expiate the 
heinous conduct, contrary to International Law and the Customs of War, which they showed in 
making a surprise attack on the German troops. 

"The General Commanding the 2nd Army has just ordered the Chief of Staff of the 2nd Army 
to collect without delay the said levy, which the town must pay on account of the conduct of its 
inhabitants. 

" I order and summon you to hand over to the bearer of the present the two first instalments, 
namely, frs. 2,000,000 (^80,000) in gold. 

" I also ask that a letter, duly sealed with the town seal, should be given to the bearer, declaring 
that the balance, frs. 1,000,000 (^40,000), will be paid without default on the 1st September. 

" I draw the town's attention to the fact that in no case can it count on the delay being prolonged, 
for the civil population of the town has put itself beyond the pale of the International Law by firing on 
the German troops. 

" The Town of Wavre will be set on fire and destroyed, if the payment is not made when due without 
distinction of persons ; the innocent will suffer with the guilty." 

Letter addressed on the 27th August, 1914, by Lieutenant-General von Nieber to 
the Burgomaster of Wavre. 

" A legally constituted court-martial pronounced the following sentences on 28th October : — 
"(1.) The police constable de Ryckere was condemned, for having attacked, in the legal exercise 
of his duties, an authorized agent of the German authorities, for having voluntarily inflicted bodily hurt 
in two cases, with the aid of other persons, for having procured the escape of a prisoner in one case, 
and for having attacked a German soldier, to 

" 5 years' imprisonment. 

" (2.) Police constable Seghers was condemned for having attacked, in the legal exercise of his 
duties, an authorized agent of the German authorities, for voluntarily inflicting bodily injury on this 
German agent, and for having procured the escape of a prisoner (all these offences constituting one 
charge), to 

" 3 years' imprisonment. 

" The sentences were confirmed on 31st October by the Governor-General, Baron von der Goltz. 
" The town of Brussels, not including its suburbs, has been punished for the injury done by its 
police constable de Ryckere to a German soldier, by an additional fine of 

" 5 million francs. 
" Brussels, 1st November, 1914. 

" The Governor of Brussels, 

" BARON VON LUTTWITZ, 

" General." 



( 92 ) 




Monsieur le Major-Commandant DIECKMANN, tiu Chateau des Bruyeres me pne de porter 
ce qui suit a la connaissance des habitants 



Bataillon DIECKMANN. 



Chateau des Bruyeres. ie 6 Septembrc 1014. 



A la presente discussion assistaient : 

1) M. le Cure FRYNS, de Bois-de-Breux ; 



a) M 

3) M 

4) M 

5) M 

6) M 

7) M 



le Curt FRANSSEN, de Beyne . 

le Curt LEPROPRES. de Heusay ; 

le Curt PAQUAY, de Gnvegnee . 

le Bourgmestrc DEJARDIN. de Beyne . 

le Bourgmestrc HODEIGE, de Gnvegnee . 

le Major DIECKMANN ; 

le Lieutenant d. R. REIL. 



Par M. le Major DIECKMANN, porte ce qui suit a la 

I. — Jcrqoaa G Sejitenhre 1311, b 4 bsaraa dc nJcrto, too^j le3 



ipitd&Vroto 









apepnlatimi dss 






des persocnalites prtsentes:' 









) DIECKICANN 



Order of Major Dieckmann, posted on the walls of the Commune of Grivegnee (near Liege) on 

8th September, 1914. 



( 93 ) 



HOSTAGES: THEORY AND PRACTICE. 

" The system of hostages has become rarer in contemporary wars, from which certain professors 
of international law have erroneously concluded that it had disappeared from the rules of war between 
civilised nations. . . . We must reject the unfavourable decisions with regard to the employment 
of this method of war by the German army in isolated cases and for divers reasons." 

Kriegsgebrauch im Landkrieg, p. 113. 

"4. After g a.m. on the 7th September, I will permit the houses in Beyne-Heusay, Grivegnee and 
Bois-deBreux to be inhabited by the persons who lived in them formerly, as long as these persons are 
not forbidden to frequent these localities by official prohibition. 

" 5. In order that the above-mentioned permit may not be abused, the Burgomasters of Beyne-Heusay 
and Grivegnee must immediately prepare list of persons who will be held as hostages for 24 hours 
each at Fort Fleron, from the 6th September, 1914, at 6 p.m. till the 7th September at midday. 

" The life of these hostages depends on the population of the above-mentioned Communes remaining 
quiet in any circumstances. 

" During the night it is severely forbidden to show any luminous signs. Bicycles are only permitted 
between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. German time. 

" 6. From the list which is submitted to me / will designate persons who shall be hostages from 
midday to the following midday. If the substitute is not there at the correct time, the hostage must 
remain another 24 hours at the fort. After these 24 hours the hostage will incur the penalty of death, if the 
substitute has not presented himself. 

"7. Priests, Burgomasters and Members of the Administration are to be taken first as hostages. 

" 8. I insist that all civilians who move about in my district, particularly those of Beyne-Heusay, 
Fleron, Bois-le-Breux and Grivegnee show their respect to the German officers by taking off their hats, 
or lifting their hands to their heads in military salute. /;/ case of doubt, every German soldier must be 
saluted. Anyone who disregards this must expect the military to make themselves respected by every 
means." 

Extract from an order of Major Dieckmann reproduced in cxtenso opposite. 

" 1. The Belgian and French soldiers must be delivered as prisoners of war before 4 o'clock in 
front of the prison. Citizens who do not obey will be condemned to hard labour for life in Germany. 

" A rigorous inspection of houses will commence at 4 6 'clock. Every soldier found will be immediately 
shot. 

" 2. Arms, powder and dynamite must be given up at 4 o'clock. Penalty : being shot. 

" Citizens who know of a store of the above must inform the burgomaster, under pain of hard 
labour for life. 

" 3. Every street will be occupied by a German guard, who will take ten hostages from each street, 
whom they will keep under surveillance. If there is any rising in the street, the ten hostages will be shot. 

" 4. Doors may not be locked, and at night after 8 o'clock there must be lights at three windows 
in every house. 

" 5. It is forbidden to be in the street after 8 o'clock. The inhabitants of Namur must understand 
that there is no greater and more horrible crime than to compromise the existence of the town and the 
life of its citizens by criminal acts against the German army. 

" The Commander of the Town. 

"VON BULOW." 

" Namur, 25th August, 1914. (Printed by Chantraine.) " 

Proclamation posted at Namur on 25th August, 1914. 



( 94 ) 




Dieses Hans ist 
zu Schutzen 

Es is! slreng verbolen, ohoe 
Genehmigung der Komman- 
danfur, Haiiser zu belreden 
oder in Brand zuselzen. 

Die EiaDPen-KommanflanfuL 



- <&&. 








^^^^^^ y ^ t ^^^*^4^^. 



* 1/ 










1. " Nicht plundern " (not 
to be sacked), an inscription in 
chalk on one of the few houses 
left intact at Dinant. 

2. Short notice posted on the 
door of certain houses. It bears 
an impression of the stamp of 
the commander of Louvain. 
Printed in German characters, 
these proclamations were evi- 
dently prepared before the war. 
They are stamped with the seal 
of the commander at the halting 
place or garrison. Translation: 
It is forbidden to pillage this 
house or to set it on fire with- 
out the authorisation from the 
Office of the Commander. 



3. Receipt for 100,000 francs, 
value of stock " found " in a 
garden at Nederzwalm and de- 
posited at the treasury of the 
15th Reserve Division of the 
German army. 



*as>i4rt?- y'^f ^^7^, 



( 95 ) 

DAILY PILLAGE AND INCENDIARISM. 

"We passed the Belgian frontier on the 15th August, 1914, at 11.50 in the morning, and continued our march 
uninterruptedly along the main road until we reached the interior of the country. We had scarcely arrived there when a 
horrible sight presented itself to our eyes. The houses were completely destroyed by fire. The inhabitants had been 
driven out and some of them killed. Not one in a hundred houses was spared. All had been sacked and burnt. We had 
scarcely passed through this large village before the succeeding one had been burnt, and so on in succession. . . ." 

EITEL ANDERS, Soldier. 

" 24th August. A woman told us that the owner of the shop, a widow, had fled yesterday for fear of the English. 
Very good, Heinrich and I proceeded to break a window at the back. We entered the kitchen and there found a round 
loaf. We then went to the cellar, whence we brought out five bottles of wine and four bottles of beer. Then, finding all 
the connecting doors closed from above, we burst them in one after the other. By this means we reached the shop. There 
we found practically all we were looking for." 

HANS GEORG HARWART, CHASSEUR. 

"7th August, 1914. 8.30 on Friday we received the news that the English had disembarked in Belgium. Afterwards 
everything was destroyed and we continued to advance. On the way we saw many people who had been hanged." 

WITTILER, Hussar. 

"October nth, 1914. There is one good thing, and that is that one is never thirsty. We drink five or six bottles of 
champagne a day, and for underclothing we have nothing but silk. When one is in need of underclothing one has simply 
to go inside a house and change. Naturally, most of the time there is nobody in the houses. When there are any people 
there they say, ' Monsieur, there is nothing left,' but for us the word ' nothing ' does not exist. These poor people inspire 
pit} - . But war is war. . . ." 

FRITZ HOLLMANN, Cavalryman. 

" 17th August. In the afternoon my eyes fell upon a little chateau belonging to one of the secretaries of the King, who 
was absent. Our men had conducted themselves there as veritable vandals. They had ransacked the cellars first, and 
then turned their attention to the sleeping rooms, where they scattered the objects all over the place. They had even made 
vain attempts to break the safe. Everything was upside down, magnificent tapestries, silk and even china vases. This is 
what happens when men are authorised to requisition for themselves. I am sure that they have carried off a number of 
useless objects simply for the pleasure of pillaging." 

An Officer of the 178TH Saxon Regiment. 

" . . . As for us men of Eisleben, we made our way towards the village with our guns under our arms. We entered 
first of all a house which we had not yet set on fire. There we found all we wanted. We had some pigeons roasted, but 
with very great caution because the best of these Belgians poisoned a great many things before escaping. Finally we made 
a breakfast worthy of a Sunday. Farther on a large shop fell into our hands. I took thence three day shirts of very fine 
work, six pairs of stockings, a packet of cigarettes, matches, drawers, cigars, wine, beer, in short, all that we could make 
use of. We had scarcely left before the shop was in flames. No man can form an idea of all this, for everything, perhaps 
8,000 to 10,000 marks worth of merchandise, was destroyed by fire." 

KARL VOGELGESANG, Saxon Soldier. 

" We arrived as a battalion of the vanguard at Mellier. Here began the racket of war in its true sense. Everything 
eatable, eggs, lard, ham, bread, all was requisitioned and the great part of the time nothing was paid for. The inhabitants 
were so terrified that they did not dare to make any claims. The population only speaks French, our soldiers make 
themselves understood by signs. 

" Mellier is situated on the main road which leads to Brussels. The station building was opened by force. (The traffic 
had ceased already for three weeks.) In this building was installed the office of the battalion and the hostages were also 
lodged there. It was piteous to see a man of 72 years of age and a white-headed priest compelled to pass the whole of the 
night in this place without any kind of comfort and without the most indispensable nourishment. The gate at which tickets 
were taken was broken to pieces. Pourquoi? 

"Without delay the roads and the heights (the village is surrounded by hills on the right and left) were secured by 
advance posts of non-commissioned officers. Obstacles were placed across the entrances to the villages, such as carriages 
turned upside down, wooden beams, stones, &c. Beer was brought in cases for which a requisition receipt (which was 
certainly without any value) .was given. Unfortunately one has had an opportunity of seeing the bete humaine 
aroused in many of the soldiers. There was seen good cause to ask if the ' kultur' was not an external varnish. Bands 
composed of ruffians (Spitzbubenelemente) were stealing all they could lay hold of ducks, chickens, &c. Unfortunately they 
were frequently encouraged, by non-commissioned officers who were either badly instructed or were of the same temperament 
as the soldiers. They ransacked the houses like savages, in search of arms, without making any distinction of social 
rank. . . . 

"... The men pillage in terrible fashion ; everything is ransacked in the houses and often destroyed. They 
strangle and then roast chickens, ducks, rabbits. . . . Small objects of attire share the same lot. All rules of right are 
abolished and we are greatly injuring our reputation." 

A NON-COMMISSTONED RESERVE OFFICER. 

All these documents are reproduced from campaign diaries in the possession of 
the Belgian, English and French Military authorities. 



( 96 ) 





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Continuation of the Diary of Gaston Klein 
(translation opposite). 



A page of the Diary of a soldier cyclist (unnamed) 
(translation opposite). 



( Q7 ) 



LOUVAIN AND AERSCHOT. 

"... We continued our march towards Louvain. Here, in the district adjoining the station, 
there is not a house which has not been attacked or even destroyed. We disembarked from the train 
and entered the town which was in flames. Never have I seen such a thing. The most beautiful 
houses of the principal street were all on fire and the sack began, consisting principally in the seizure 
of the wine, and you should have seen the way this was done. Everybody had as much as he could 
carry. At night we slept in the barracks and carried off all we could possibly make use of . . . 

"... The 31st August we entered Aerschot in order to guard the station . . . and the 
2nd September I had a little respite of which I made use to visit the town. No one, without seeing 
it, could form an idea of the condition it is in. Men and women, and perhaps the priests also, took 
refuge in the church. Leon released twenty or thirty women who were there, but the men were 
detained. The women were all obliged to provide themselves with tickets in order to pass the posts, 
and all my life I shall never drink more wine than I drank here . . . 

" . . .On the 5th we again made a march of 50 kilometres as far as Diest in order to obtain 
provisions. The 1st company received the remainder. I killed three men and wounded four. The 
6th September was a day of rest. We only sent 300 Belgians to Germany, amongst whom were 22 priests. 
It was terrible to see the women and children bidding them farewell. All the people are incited by the priests 
who have preached in the churches that they should fire upon the Germans and kill them in order that they may 
enter into Heaven." 

Extracts from the diary of a soldier cyclist who began his service at Burg on the 
15th August. 

" After Roosbeek we began to have an idea of the war : houses burnt, walls pierced by bullets, the 
face of the tower carried away by shells, &c, a few isolated crosses marked the graves of the victims. 
We arrived at Louvain, which was a veritable military ants' nest. The battalion of the Laudsturm of 
Halle arrived, dragging with it all kinds of things, especially bottles of wine, and amongst them there 
were many who were drunk. A party of six cyclists were going round the town looking for lodgings. 
It presented such a picture of devastation that it would be impossible to imagine anything worse. 
Streets were blocked by burning and falling houses ; only a few remained standing. One had to walk 
over broken glass and bits of burning wood. The tram and telephone wires were dragging in the 
streets and obstructing them. 

" The stations, which were still standing, were filled with people billeted there. On returning to 
the station nobody knew what was to be done. At first a few troops only were to enter the town, but 
at that time the battalion was drawn up in close array -with the intention of breaking into the first houses to 
cany off the wine and anything else under the name of' requisition.' They assembled, a disordered crowd, 
everybody going as he pleased. Officers went on in front to give a good example. 

" One night in barracks there were numbers of drunken men ; that was enough. 

" That day inspired me with a contempt which it is beyond me to describe." 

Extract from the diary of Gaston Klein, of the 1st company of Laudsturm, elated 
29th August, 19 1 4. 

(The originals are deposited at the Belgian headquarters.) 
5183 G 



( 98 ) 



A page of the diary of the Reservist 
Schlauter, 3rd Battery. 



A page-of the campaign diary of the German soldier Philipp, 
of Kamenz (Saxony), 1st company of the 178th Regiment. 



( 99 ) 

MASSACRES OF CIVILIANS. 

" 5th August, in front of the Fort of Fleron. The position was a dangerous one, as suspicions 
civilians were moving about. Houses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 were evacuated. The owners were arrested and 
shot the following day. Suddenly the village was bombarded. Our baggage train and the 4th Com- 
pany of the 27th Regiment hurried away ; having lost their way and being bombarded by their own 
artillery. From the point D.P. / shot a civilian, hitting him full in the forehead at a distance of 
400 metres, as we afterwards found." 

Extract from the diary of Kurt Hoffmann (ist company of the 4th Chasseurs). 
The text is accompanied by a plan in pencil. (From the file at the English 
War Office.) 

" 17th August. At 2 o'clock in the morning there was an alarm. Rifle shots were heard. We 
slept, our rifles under our arms, until day time. Previously I had passed by villages where fighting 
was taking place in the streets. We. broke windows with the butt ends of our rifles and burned the houses, 
and immediately afterwards the same lot befell a large village, and so on as far as Liege. . . . 

"... 23rd August. . . . Three men and a woman were shot. We made prisoners of 
14 men and one woman ; the former were shot. We have set fire to everything which could be 
burned. Outside the village there were a few civilians. A lieutenant and I fired a few shots at them. 
They fled to the woods, after which we drank several bottles of champagne, and thus we avenged the 
blood ef our comrades. . . ." 

Extracts from the diary of Gustave Schopper of the 8th Reserve Hussars. (The 
original is in possession of the Belgian Staff.) 

" We got into the property of a well-to-do inhabitant, by a breach effected in the rear, and we 
occupied the house. Through a maze of rooms we reached the threshold. There was the body of 
the owner on the floor. Inside our men destroyed everything, like Vandals. Every corner was 
searched. Outside in the country, the sight of the villagers who had been shot defies all description. The 
volley had almost decapitated some of ihem. Every house had been, searched to the smallest corner, 
and the inhabitants dragged from their hiding-places. The men were shot ; the women and children 
shut up in a convent, from which some shots were fired. Consequently, the convent is to be burnt. 
Ii can be ransomed, however, on the surrender of the guilty and on payment of 15,000 francs.'' 

Extract from the diary of a Saxon officer of the 178th regiment, dated 23rd 
August, 1914. 

" In the evening, at 10 o'clock, the first battalion of the 178th regiment went down to the village 
that had been burnt to the north of Dinant. A sad and beautiful sight, and one that made you 
shudder. At the entrance of the village there lay about 50 dead bodies strewn on the road. They 
had been shot for having fired on our troops from ambush. In the course of the night many others 
were shot in the same way, so that we could count more than two hundred. The women and children, 
lamp in hand, were obliged to watch the horrible scene. We then ate our rice, in the midst of the 
corpses, for we had not tasted food since morning." 

Extract from the diary of the soldier, Philipp Kamenz, 178th Saxon regiment. 

" Three hundred of the inhabitants were shot and the survivors were requisitioned as grave- 
diggers. You should have seen the women at this moment ! But you can't do otherwise. During 
our march on Wilot things went better : the inhabitants who wished to leave could do so and go 
where they liked. But anyone who fired was shot. When we left Owele, shots were fired : but there, 
women and everything were fired on. . . ." 

Extract from the diary of the soldier, Schlauter (3rd battery of 4th regiment of 
Field Artillery and the Guard). (These three diaries are in the possession of the 
French military authorities.) 

5183 G 2 



( ioo ) 



' . J 


... | 


— — • ■ --: - - ' -- 





Extract from the diary of Paul Glbde, a soldier in a battalion of Pioneers. 




Extract from a campaign diary belonging to a soldier of the 1st battalion of the 1st regiment of the Guard. 



( ioi ) 



THE KILLING OF THE WOUNDED. 

" After to-day no more prisoners will be taken. All prisoners are to be killed. Wounded, with or 
without arms, are to be killed. Even prisoners already grouped in convoys are to be killed. Let not a 
single living enemy remain behind us. 

" ist Lieutenant commanding the company, Stoy ; the Colonel commanding the regiment, Neubauer ; 
the General commanding the brigade, Senger." 

General order addressed on the 26th August by General Stenger, commanding 
the 5th German Brigade. (Reproduced from the statement of German prisoners 
interned in France.) 

" In the trench alongside the highway were lying some Frenchmen in open order. Although none 
of them was wounded all had the appearance of being dead. When we approached them certain of 
them raised their hands and cried out : " Pardon, camarade." What were we to do ? We had been 
forbidden to make any prisoners." 

Letter from a German soldier published in the Konstanzer Zcitung of 

5th October, 19 14. 

" 12th August 1914. In Belgium. It is easy to imagine the fury of our soldiers, when you see the 
villages that have been destroyed. There is not one house left undamaged. All eatables are 
requisitioned by the soldiers no longer under command. We have seen on several occasions a number 
of men and women who had been executed after sentence passed on them. Little children were 
running round looking for their mothers. Dogs chained up were left with nothing to eat or drink, 
while the houses were burning over their heads. But the just anger of our soldiers goes hand in hand 
with sheer vandalism. In some villages which had already been deserted they " set up the red cock " 
on all the houses (burnt them). The inhabitants sadden me. If they use disloyal weapons, after all 
they are but defending their country. The atrocities that these civilians have been and are guilty of 
are avenged in a savage manner. Mutilation of the wounded is the order of the day." 

Extract from the diary of the soldier Paul Glode. (File at the French Ministry 

of War.) 

" October 2nd. The Bavarians no longer make prisoners." 

From the diary of K. Barthel, a sergeant in the 2nd company of the Foot Guard. 
(File at the British War Office.) 

"August 24th. Before the village of Ermeton .... We took 1,000 prisoners ; at least 500 
prisoners were killed. The village was burned because the inhabitants also had fired. Two civilians 
were also shot. In searching a house for beds we found exceptionally good food ; bread, wine, butter, 
jam, preserved fruits, and many other things formed our booty . . . We washed ourselves clean of 
blood and cleaned our bayonets . . ." 

Extract from the diary of a soldier of the ist Regiment of the Guard (in the 

possession of the British authorities.) 



( 103 ) 




Types of German ambulance attendants with arms and cartridge cases, photographed at Louvain. 



( 103 ) 



THE GERMAN CONSCIENCE. 

" If a blinded and maddened population treacherously attacks and slaughters without pity the brave 
sons of our people who are facing death for their country, as well as the wounded, doctors and hospital 
nurses — if bands of men endanger the safety of the lines of communication of the armies, self- 
preservation requires that extreme measures should immediately he adopted against them. Indeed, it is a 
sacred duty of the military commanders to take such measures. In such a case the innocent will have 
to suffer with the guilty. The repealed instructions of the command of our army have allowed no doubt to 
subsist as to this mailer. It is no doubt to be regretted that in repressing these infamous acts it should 
be impossible to spare human lives, and that isolated houses as well as flourishing villages, and even 
entire towns, should be annihilated, but this should not provoke misplaced sentimentality. All that we 
may destroy is, in our eyes, less in value than the life of a single one of our brave soldiers. That is self- 
evident, and indeed, properly speaking, it is not necessary to mention it. 

" . . . Whoever speaks here of barbarity commits a crime. Rigorously to carry out a duty is to 
obey a mandate of a high civilisation (Kultur), and in that matter the population of the enemy's country 
has only to take a lesson from our army." 

Extract from a proclamation addressed on the 29th August, 19 14, ai Minister, by 
General Baron Von Bissing, to the population in the district of the 7th Army 
Corps. 



" In an order of the day, I recently appealed to the public not to display false and misplaced 
sentiments of sympathy towards the prisoners of war. You should show more of a German conscience. 

" Must I again repeat this remonstrance ? It would seem so. According to the reports which have 
been submitted to me, all kinds of dainties, and in particular chocolates, have again been offered to the 
prisoners in spite of the prohibitions which have been issued, and that at Minister as well as elsewhere. 
Are you so full of pity for others and so anti-German in spirit that you do not hear the cries of distress 
of our own prisoners in France ? You may be sure that they are not offered chocolate there. Un- 
fortunately, it is not possible completely to isolate from the outside world the prisoners of my district. 
I have, therefore, been obliged to put an end to the commerce in provisions and dainties which has 
been established in the encampments without my authority. It is mostly children and young people, 
and in particular little girls, who crowd round the prisoners unceasingly. They are entirely wanting in 
good breeding. It is for their relatives and the schools to alter this state of things. 

" If these warnings should remain without result, recourse will be had to exemplary punishment in 
order to put a stop to this anti-German conduct. It is on the sentiment of the young generation that the 
future of our country depends. 

" The General Commanding, 

"VON BISSING." 

Order of the Government of the encampment of the prisoners at Minister, 
published by the Dusseldorfer Tageblatt on the nth December, 1914. 



( i°4 ) 



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Photograph of a letter found on the 25th September, 1914, south of Baserode (environs of Louvainj. 

[Translation opposite.'] 



Dear Brother 



C 105 ) 
THE KIND OF MENTALITY REQUIRED. 

" Schleswig, 25.8.14. 



" I lately obtained your address through Frederick, and I trust that you will receive the present 
letter in good time before your regiment leaves for Brussels. No doubt should you have already started 
my letter will be forwarded. 

" As you know I am attached to the Lazaretto here and I shall remain here for a long time yet, 
perhaps altogether, although I should much like to go with a field ambulance, as an Inspector of 
ambulances. But I shall certainly remain here until the middle of September. 

" You will shortly go to Brussels with your regiment as you know. Take care to protect yourself 
against these Civilians, especially in the villages. Do not let anyone of them come near you. Fire 
■without pity on everyone of them who comes too near. They are very clever, cunning fellows these 
Belgians, even the women and children are armed and fire their guns. Never go inside a house, 
especially alone. If you take anything to drink make the inhabitants drink first, and keep at distance 
from them. The newspapers related numerous cases in which they have fired on our soldiers whilst they were 
drinking. You soldiers must spread around so much fear of yourselves that no civilian will venture to 
come near you. Remain always in the company of others. / hope that you have read the newspapers and 
that you know how to behave. Above all have no compassion for these cut-throats. Make for them without 
pity with the butt-end of your rifle and the bayonet. 

"You will have learnt the news of the great victories. When you arrive in Belgium our soldiers 
would probably have crossed the Franco- Belgian frontier. Keep well. I hope that you will come back 
to the house in good health. May you prosper. Best greetings. 

" Your brother, 

"WILLI." 
(Translation of the letter opposite.) 

What a German Doctor wrote to a soldier in the field. 



" 1 oth August, 1914. — We dined at Minden in a brewery. We were received and looked after 
everywhere most courteously. We heard here the story of the deeds of terror and cruelties 
^perpetrated by the Belgians at Liege. A Surgeon General was billeted on the Burgomaster. When 
he sat down at table he was seized from behind by his host and his throat was cut. Wounded men 
were taken into a sham hospital. When the Red Cross came back with the materials for bandages it 
was found that the eyes of all the wounded men had been taken out and their hands tied behind their 
backs. On one of the prisoners they found some fingers which had been cut off from an officer with 
the rings on them." 

Extract from the diary of the soldier K. Barthel (filed at the English War Office) 

What German soldiers are told before their departure. 



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Letter found at Termonde, 



( '°7 ) 

THE KIND OF MENTALITY REQUIRED. 

" Lebbeke, 6.9.14. 

'' Dear Aunt Emma, 

" I am much shocked on realising that I forgot your birthday and that my letter will also be too 
late for the birthday of Aunt Marie. What is the use of almanacs if one does not look around one 
from time to time, but I have never had as good an excuse as I have this time, and for one who is not 
taking part in the war it is an extraordinary thing, and there are certainly extenuating circumstances 
for forgetfulness. 

" I have become little by little so accustomed to the war that everything appears to me to be 
natural. One is astonished sometimes when one passes by a village which has not been destroyed by fire, 
when one is not obliged to start marching at midnight, or when it happens that for a whole day one does 
not see a franc-tircur shot. In the evening we sit down comfortably at table and eat black bread and 
bacon, and drink red wine which belonged to a Cure who was shot, and it gives its pleasure to see how well those 
houses blazed from which shots have been fired. We sleep almost all together. If we have not sufficient 
protection we keep loaded revolvers at our side. I have not yet made use of one, but it is not advisable 
to go for a walk without a revolver. Our captain who, to be frank, is excessively cautious, goes so'far 
as to take with him, by way of a guard, two ambulance bearers armed with revolvers and rifles 
whenever he has to make his way in the evening to a solitary spot. To our great satisfaction the 
intelligent surgeon of the army corps, who is the chief officer, Reiske by name, has spoken in praise of 
our activity, which has evidently given much pleasure to our energetic staff doctor. We are awaiting 
the fall of Antwerp, which will "be considerably hastened by the attack to take place in the next few 
days. We shall then probably quit for ever this treacherous country and make, as I hope, for England, 
as soon as the sea passage is clear, a matter which the fleet will meantime see to. Otherwise we shall 
make for Russia, for it is quite certain that before long France will be the scene of a final battle. 
News takes a long time to reach me from the home, and it is a long time since I have heard from 
Marguerite. I hope that everybody is in good health. Write often when you have time, for it is a 
pleasure to see any sign of life. News from the field of battle reaches us eight clays later :than it does 
those who have remained at home, but 1 prefer being here and regret only one circumstance, namely, 
that I am not able to take part in the fighting. Once more cordial greetings and best wishes for your 
birthdays to yourself and Aunt Marie. 

" Yours, 

" FRITZ." 

Literal translation of the letter opposite. (From the file of the Belgian Staff.) 



What a Doctor in the Field writes to Germany. 

" You jwrite to me about the Belgians. They have only themselves to thank that their country 
has been thus: devastated. I have seen all the great towns attacked and the villages besieged and set 
on fire. At Tongres we were attacked by the population in the evening when, it was dark. An 
immense number of shots were exchanged for we were exposed to fire on foursides. Happily we had 
only one man hit, he died the following day. We killed two women, and the men were shot next day." 

Unfinished letter written by a German soldier to his brother-in-law. (From 
the file of the English Staff.) 

The information which the German population is given. 



( io8 ) 





1. German Star? photographed inside the Hotel de Viile at Louvaill. 

2. The Hotel de Ville in the midst of ruins only spared because it served as the quarters of the 
superior officers. 



( iog ) 



AFTER A MONTH OF WAR: DAILY AND SYSTEMATIC 

CALUMNY. 



" I solemnly protest to you against the fashion in which this war is being carried on by our 
adversaries, whose methods are such as to make it one of the most barbarous wars of history. . . . 

" Apart from the use of these monstrous weapons, the Belgian Government has encouraged the 
civil population to take part in the fighting, and has for a long time carefully organised the resistance. 
The cruelties perpetrated in this guerilla warfare even by women and priests on wounded soldiers, 
doctors, and hospital nurses (doctors have been killed and ambulances burned) were such that out- 
generals were compelled at last to adopt extreme measures for the punishment of the guilty and to 
terrorise the bloodthirsty population, thus preventing it from continuing this shameful practice. 

"Villages and even the ancient City of Louvain (with the exception of the magnificent Hotel de 
Ville) had to be destroyed for the protection of our troops." 

Telegram sent by Emperor William to President Wilson, 4th September, 1914. 

" The cruelties in question arc the blinding of the wounded, cutting out of tongues, castration, 
members cut off, wounded killed when they were already lying on transport stretchers, odious attacks 
by the population. Monks who the day before had welcomed our men took the most active part at 
night in sudden attacks, revolver in hand, etc., etc." 

From a private letter of Prince Henri XXXIII of Reuss communicated to the 
neutral press by an official telegram from Berlin, Thursday, 28th August, 1914. 

"A Catholic priest was arrested in his church. It appears that he had given the enemy information 
as to our positions. He had to walk between our bayonets, and the perspiration poured down his face. 
The old man did not seem to find much pleasure in this forced march ! " 

Extract from the diary of a marine gunner, 7th Company, 4th Regiment. 

" We have to contend constantly with francs-tircurs and are obliged (underlined in the text) to destroy 
flourishing spots in order to avenge the murder of our comrades." 

Letter from a soldier of the 200th Regiment 43 Div. XXII C.A.R. to Eugene 
Scheufer, Berlin. 

" The Belgian soldiers . . . fire at the backs of our troops, they tear off the ears and pierce 
the eyes of those who fall into their hands. The people are fanatic and under the thumb of the priests ; 
they carry out blindly the priests' orders, not troubling themselves whether their obedience to them will 
bring them to death or not. They are the slaves of the priests." 

Extract from the war diary of the muskateer Franz Schmiedt (1st Batt. of 
Landsturm, identification badge No. 20). 



( no 




Gott mit uns." German device inscribed on the soldiers' belts. 



" What we hear about our soldiers is the product oj our private life.' 1 '' Of them we can confidently 
say : " God is with our work." 

Words spoken at Berlin on 12th March, 1915, by D. Nahling, Privy Councillor. 
The Empress sent a representative to his lecture, passages from which are 
produced by the -Norddeutscher ALlgemcine Zeitung of 13th March, 1915. 



( III ) 

AFTER EIGHT MONTHS OF WAR : POSITIVE AND OFFICIAL 

REFUTATION. 

"We have already been able to establish the falseness of a great number of assertions which have been 
made with great precision and published everywhere in the press, concerning alleged cruellies com- 
mitted by the populations of the countries with which Germany is at war upon German soldiers and 
civilians. We are now in a position to silence two others of these fantastic stories. 

" The War Correspondent of the " Berliner Tageblatt " spoke a few weeks ago of cigars and 
cigarettes filled with powder alleged to have been given out or sold to our soldiers with diabolical 
intent. He even pretended to have seen with his own eyes hundreds of this kind of cigarettes. We 
learn from an authentic source that this story of cigars and cigarettes is nothing but a brazen 
invention. Stories of soldiers whose eyes are alleged to have been torn out by francs-tireurs are 
circulated throughout Germany. Not a single case of this kind has been officially established. In every 
instance where it has been possible to verify the story its inaccuracy has been demonstrated. 

" It matters little that reports of this nature bear an appearance of positive certitude, or are even 
vouched by eye-witnesses. The desire for notoriety, the absence of criticism, and personal error play 
an unfortunate part in the days in which we are living. Every nose shot off or simply bound up, every 
eye removed, is immediately transformed into a nose or eye torn off by the francs-tireurs. Already the 
" Popular Gazette of Cologne "■ has been able, contrary to the very categorical assertions of Aix-la- 
Chapelle, to prove that there was no soldier with his eyes torn out in the field ambulance at this town. 
It was said, also, that people wounded in this way were under treatment in the neighbourhood of 
Berlin, but whatever enquiries have been made in regard to these leports, their absolute falsity has been 
demonstrated. At length these reports were concentrated at Gross Lichterfekl. A newspaper 
published at noon, and widely circulated in Berlin, printed a few days ago in large type the news that 
at the Lazaretto of Lichterfeld alone there were ' ten German soldiers, only slightly wounded, whose 
eyes had been wickedly torn out.' But to a request for information by comrade Leibknecht the 
following written reply was sent by the chief medical officer of the above-mentioned field hospital, 
dated the 18th of the month : — 

" Sir, 

" Happilv there is no truth whatever in these stories. 

" Yours obediently, 

" Professor RAUTENBERG." 

Extract from the Vorwaerts of Berlin, 22nd October, 1914. 



" Officially, no instance has been proved of persons having fired, with the help of priests, from the towers 
of churches. All that has been made known up to the present, and that has been made the object of 
inquiry, concerning alleged atrocities attributed to Catholic priests during this war, has been shoivu to 
be false and altogether imaginary, without any exception. Our Emperor telegraphed to the President 
of the United States of America that even women and priests had committed atrocities during this 
guerilla warfare on wounded soldiers, doctors and nurses attached to the field ambulances. How this 
telegram can be reconciled with the fact stated above (that there is nothing against the priests) u<e shall 
not be able to learn until after the war." 

Signed, Lorenz Muller, and published in prominent type in the German 
scientific review, Der Fels. 



( "2 ) 




Types of German officsrs and soldiers photographed at Louvain. The man in the centre of the group 

has a serrated bayonet. 



( H3 ) 



UNDER THE GERMAN YOKE. 



" He who travels to-day in Belgium must harden his heart, for every step that he takes reminds 
him how terrible it must be to have lost one's liberty in one's own country, and he thinks with horror 
what would be his own feelings in a similar extremity." 

Sven Hedin, Ein Volk in Waffen, page 124. 



5183 



( "4 ) 




The Parliament of a free country : the Assembly Room of the House of Representatives at Brussels 
transformed into a dormitory for the troops. 



" The occupying State shall regard itself only as administrator and usufructuary of the public 
buildings . . ." 

Article 55 of the Hague Rules of War. 



( «5 ) 
SYSTEMATIC EXPROPRIATION. 

" Neither requisition in kind nor services can be demanded from communes or inhabitants except 
for the necessities of the Army of Occupation. 

" They must be in proportion to the resources of the country. . . . 

" Supplies in kind shall as far as possible be paid for in ready money ; if not, their receipt shall be 
acknowledged and the payment of the amount due shall be made as soon as possible." 

Article 52 of the Hague Rules of War. 

" This forcible expropriation of private property was followed in the whole of Belgian territory 
under occupation by a policy of spoliation organized by the German authorities which the official order 
of the German headquarters announced would be put into force from the 27th August, 1914. 

" ' The Landsturm will be called out to secure the lines of communication and for the supervision 
of Belgium. This country, placed under German administration, will have to provide for the military 
requirements of all kinds in order to relieve the German territories? 

" Disguised under the name of requisitions this expropriation is no less contrary to the rules of 
International Law than the violation by the German armies of private property. It constitutes a 
flagrant violation of Articles 23(g), 46 and 52, of the regulations concerning the laws and customs of 
war on land, annexed to the 4th Hague Convention : it moreover ignores the engagements entered into 
in Belgium by the German authorities themselves. These authorities at the time they imposed upon 
the Belgian provinces a heavy war contribution of 40 million francs per month after the enormous 
requisitions, impositions and fines of every kind to which the communes and Belgian citizens were 
subjected, found themselves compelled to put an end to the system which they had hitherto adopted. 

" Belgian agriculture, manufactures and commerce have not suffered in a less degree. The produce of 
cattle rearing, raw materials, manufacture produce and machine tools have been seized and carried off 
to Germany without regard to any right." 

Extract from the 13th Report of the Committee of Inquiry. 

" It is impossible to furnish any complete estimate as to requisitions or imposition of fines or 
destruction of property. The total number must be enormous. 

"The German invaders have requisitioned grain, provisions, cattle and horses both in the towns 
and in the country ; they have also requisitioned stores of cotton and wool, raw material as well as 
manufactured products, copper fixtures, parts of the installation of certain factories, motor cars, benzine 
and all kinds of implements which might be useful in the manufacture of arms and munitions. In the 
course of our journeys across Belgium we scarcely saw any cattle, and literally no pigs or horses. 
Some of the villages have been completely destroyed. A certain number of houses have been burnt in 
nearly all the villages and all the towns on the principal roads by which the invasion has taken place. 
In most cases the inhabitants did not have time to save anything, with the exception of a few clothes 
on their backs. 

" The destruction of implements and plant cannot be estimated. In the smallest villages through 
which the army passed, no less than in some of the great towns, as Louvain and Malines in which 
fighting took place or which were completely destroyed by fire, all the houses left standing have been 
pillaged. We noticed in several of these houses that the furniture which it was impossible to carry away was 
broken to pieces. 

" The ravages thus caused have not been repaired ; indeed, very little has been done to made good 
the material damage caused by the passage of the troops." 

Extract from a report published at New York on 14th February by the 
Rockefeller Foundation. 

5183 H 2 



( "6 ) 




Court Room of the Assize Court, Courts of Justice at Brussels, transformed into a Guard room. 



( "7 ) 
THE REIGN OF INFORMERS AND ARBITRARY TRIALS. 

" Numerous complaints have been addressed to me in my capacity of President of the Order of 
Advocates by my compatriots, protesting against grave abuses, in particular with reference to the 
adoption of repressive measures. It is not for me to decide as to the justice of these complaints, but 
they reveal none the less a situation which one cannot possibly disregard. This task is one which falls 
on the Bar. . . . 

"... Looking at things as a whole, without passion or prejudice, a lawyer cannot fail to 
acknowledge that everything in the German judicial organisation in Belgium is contrary to the principles 
of Law. . . . 

"It is justice uncontrolled, the judge left to himself, that is, to his impressions, his prejudices and 
his surroundings. It means a prisoner abandoned in his helplessness, alone and at the mercy of his 
all-powerful adversary. 

" The establishment of a form of justice uncontrolled and therefore offering no guarantee is for us 
the most dangerous and the most oppressive of all illegalities. We cannot conceive of justice as a 
juridical or moral possibility without liberty of defence. 

'' Liberty of defence means that light will be thrown on all the details of the trial, that the voice 
of the public conscience will make itself heard at the Pretorium. It means that in the interest of the 
unfortunate, as in the interest of justice and of Right itself, everything may be said, though in the most 
respectful terms, and everything may be dared. 

" This principle is one of the great conquests of our domestic history ; it is the foundation stone 
of individual liberty. 

" What are your means of obtaining information ? 

"Apart from the judges regularly constituted there are the secret police and informers. 

" The Secret Police, without a uniform or badge to denote their office, mingle with the populace 
in the streets, and cafes, and on the tramway platforms, listening to conversation, seeking to hear 
secrets, on the watch, not only for actions, but for intentions. 

" The host of informers has, they say, multiplied. Of what value can be their statements, inspired 
as they are by hatred, rancour, or low cupidity ? Such auxiliaries cannot bring to the workings of 
justice any useful co-operation. 

" If we add to this complete absence of control and defence temporary detention or prolonged 
imprisonment, if we add to it the domiciliary perquisitions, we shall have an almost complete view of 
the moral torture to which are subjected, at this moment, our aspirations, our thoughts and our 
liberties. . . . 

" Does there exist a moral force which is superior to justice ? This latter dominates all the others. 
Old as humanity itself, eternal as is the desire of men and nations to be and to feel themselves protected, 
it is the basis of all civilisation. Art and Science are its tributories ; religions exist and prosper under 
its asgis. Is it not a religion in itself ? 

" Belgium has raised a temple to it within its capital. 

" This temple, which is our pride, has been transformed into barracks. A very small part of it, which 
is becoming daily smaller still, is reserved for the Courts and Tribunals ; and the Magistrates and 
Advocates reach it by a back staircase. 

" Painful as are the conditions under which it is called upon to administer Justice, the Bench has, 
nevertheless, decided to sit. The Bar is solid with it. Accustomed to live in an atmosphere of deference 
and of dignity, it no longer recognises itself amid the scenery of a guard-house. Indeed, can we say 
that Justice is still Justice when surrounded by so little sign of respect ? 

" What offends us is not the proximity of your soldiers ; we honour in them their patriotism and 
their courage. What offends us is the contact of bayonets and the thousand undefinable things which 
necessarily accompany the lodging of soldiers in barracks. What wounds us is the little regard which 
seems to be professed for our persons and our functions." 

Extracts from a protest addressed to the German Governor by the President of 

the Order of Advocates at Brussels. 



( "8 ) 




SfflMlM. 24. OlteKft 






Siaintfcfje^eitimg 



KjSV'TV 3»^t ! TS fc* 



_J 914 B t-»66 



Verkauf 
von Beutepferden 

durch die Landwirtschaftskammer unter 
MHwirkungderRheinischen Pferdezentrale 

am Dienstag den 27. Oktober u. Mittwocfc 

den 28. Oktober, von K) Uhr ab 

auf dem Schlachthof in Coin. 

Es gelangen 400 Beutepferde (Absatzfohlen, JShrlinge,' 
Zweijahrige, Gebrauchspferde, 8 Hengsle) zur Versteigerung. 

Als Ankaufer sind nor Landwirte aus der Rheinprovinz 
und den benachbarfen Provinzen zugelassen, die sich als 
solche durch eine amtliche Bescheinigung ausweisen kftnnen, 
und die sich schriftlich verpflichten, die Pferde nur im eigenen 
landwirtschafllichen Betriebe zu verwenden. 

Die genauen Bedingungen werden vor Beginn der Ver- 
steigerung verlesen. 

Der Verkauf erfolgt ohne Oarantie nor gegea Bar- 
zahlung. 

Zum Versteigerungsplatze haben nur Landwirte, die sich 
als solche durch eine amtliche Bescheinigung ausweisen 
jniissen, Zutritt. Re 

I. — Brabancon stallions and mares collected in the Park of Brussels previously to beingjexported to 

Germany. 

II. — Notice of the sale of these horses as booty of war (Kolnische Zeitung, 24th October, 1914). 



( iiQ ) 



A LONG COVETED NATIONAL SOURCE OF WEALTH. 

" The Belgian stock of draught horses has long been famous. In the last 20 years the breeders, 
encouraged and supported by the Government, have succeeded in bringing the stock of these horses to 
such a degree of perfection that this branch ot national activity had become an important source of 
wealth. Most of the continental countries came to Belgium for their supplies of draught horses. 
Germany was one of the best customers for draught horses reared in Belgium. She imported every year 
from Belgium horses to the value of more than 24 million francs." 

Extract from the 13th Report of the Committee of Inquiry. 

" General Depot for Horses. 

" The Commission for the purchase of horses will sit on Monday, 3rd November, at 3 o'clock 
(4 o'clock German time), at the Grand Place, Thuillies. 

" All carriage and saddle horses as well as yearling foals must be brought before this Commission. 
" Carriage horses must be, if possible, provided with their working harness. Purchases will be 
paid in ready money and without any rebate. 

" For the German General Government. 

" The Officer in Charge of the Central Depot for Horses. 
" Any persons neglecting to bring their horses to the Commission will be liable to have their stock 
requisitioned, without indemnity." 

Notice posted in the villages of the breeding districts during October and 
November, 1914 : — 

" Belgian foals. 

" More than 60 head of horse directly imported from Belgium, between the ages of 2 and 3 years, 
including 6 stallions, will be sold to the highest bidders on Tuesday, the 2nd February, at 10 o'clock in 
the morning, at the Magervichhof, by order of the Minister of Agriculture, Domains and Forests. 

" No purchases can be made by others than the farmers of the various districts of the country 
who can prove themselves to be such by an official document. 

" The sale will take place in the open air. 

" The horses can be examined from the early hours of the morning. It is requested that men may 
be sent to take immediate delivery of the horses purchased. 

" Viehcentrale Magervichhof, 

" Friedrichsfelde, Berlin.'' 

Deutsche Tageszeiiiing, 2nd February, 19 15. 

"Sale of Belgian horses and mares, Booty of war. 

"A sale will be held on Thursday, 15th October, at 10 o'clock in the morning, and on Friday, 16th 
October, at 9 o'clock, on the grounds of the slaughter house of Cologne, on behalf of the Chamber of 
Agriculture, with the assistance of the Central Horse Rearing Society of the Rhine. 

" There will be offered for sale a war booty of 260 horses and 5^ mares between the ages of 4 and 5 
years, most of them in foal. (Friday afternoon at 1 o'clock.) 

" Horses taken as booty of war can only be bought for the farming of the Rhenish provinces or 
bordering provinces. The purchasers must produce an official certificate proving the fulfilment of this 
condition and sign a contract undertaking to employ their horses entirely for the purposes of 
agricultural development. The mares used for breeding which have been taken back for the account 
of the Chamber of Agriculture can only be purchased by the farmers of the Rhenish provinces, who 
must undertake, in writing, to employ them for at least 3 years for breeding purposes. 

" The conditions of sale will be read at the opening. The sale will take place without guarantee 
and the purchase money must be paid in cash. The approach to the meadow in which the sale will 
take place is reserved exclusively for persons holding an official certificate proving that they are 
farmers." 

Kolnische Zeitung, 15th October, 1914. 



Arr6t6 

1. L'exportation bora de Belgiqne 
de machines & travailler le metal est 
interdite. Toat essai d'exporter des 
machines da oe genre entrainera la 
confiscation de ces machines. 

2. Exception est faite pour les ma- 
chines qui sont exportees en Alle- 
raagne enr l'ordre da Goavernement 
General. 

3. Cet arrSte entre anssitot en 
vigueur. 

Brnxelles, le 17 fevrier igr5. 
Le Gouverneur General en Belgique, 
Baron vok HISSING, 
Colonel General. 



( 120 ) 

(Translation.) 
BY ORDER. 

1. The exportation from Belgium of machinery for 
working in metal is forbidden. Any machinery of this 
nature which it is attempted to export will be con- 
fiscated. 

2. Exception is made in the case of machinery 
exported to Germany by order of the General Govern- 
ment. 

3. This order will be enforced immediately. 

Brussels, 17th February, 191 5. 

The Governor General in Belgium, 
Baron von BISSING, 

Colonel General. 



4»r 



Saasm, 6. Bin 



SlDlniftfie 3eitwtQ 

^r^li fcffe JHotgen-Wasgabe ES&*fg| 



1915 - BL 236 






Padagogium zu Bad Pyrmoni 

Pnvat Realschule (Kl. VI- I, eiieili Einjahngen-Zeugnis (bisner 
664). Ostei- u. Hcibstvcrsekunf. Giile Verplle g u Auls.chl 'pa 

Neuwied am Rhein 

Zehnklassige hohere Madchenschule u.Pensionat 
—^-* Her evanprBrudergernlnr 8 * 4 '***** 

Hhi ProspcKl dutch d'jn Oil ekloi . H. Oammert. 



Ueber Mobeltransporte 

aus den Hauplorten nh 

Belgiens Hach Deutschland 

und Oesterreich Ungarn erleili Auskiinlle u Kosienanschlajje 

Speditions & Lagerhaus Akt. Ges. Aachen. 



exwii*!?"**?'** 



(Vi 

Wir lieiein Holibaracken zui Unterbringung von Ge- 
fangenen fur die QioBinduslrie und sladl. Veiwaltungen 
Kostenlose Angebote. Kurzeste Lieferfrist. 

Willi. Becher & Co., U.-Barmen. 



I.— German notice communicated to a Belgian newspaper published by permission of the censor 
concerning 1 the removal of machinery from Belgium to Germany. 

II.— Advertisement of a transport agent residing at Aix-la-Chapelle concerning the removal of 
furniture to Belgium. 



( 121 ) 

INDUSTRIAL RUIN. 

" An army of occupation can only take possession of cash, funds and realizable securities which 
are strictly the property of the State, depots of arms, means of transport, stores and supplies, and, 
generally, all movable property of the State which may be used for operations of war. 

" All appliances, whether on land, at sea, or in the air, adapted for the transmission of news or for 
the transport of persons or goods apart from cases governed by maritime law, depots of arms, and, 
generally, all kinds of war material may be seized, even though belonging to private persons, but they 
must be restored and indemnities for them regulated at the peace." 

Article 53 of the Hague Rules of War. 

" It appears from a complaint addressed to the Governor-General of Belgium by the Federation 
of Belgian Builders, dated 22nd January, that the German authorities entered factories and announced 
their intention of taking possession of the machine tools with which they were stocked. These machines 
were taken to pieces, and many were removed and sent to Germany without any document being given 
to the proprietor stating the nature, number and value of the tools seized. By the 21st January the 
value of the machines seized exceeded 16 million francs. 

" Moreover, by the terms of a contract between the Royal Feldzeugmeisterei, of Berlin, and the Jinn 

. of Sonnenthal, Junior, of Cologne, the latter places itself at the disposal of the Feldzeugmeisterei, with 

a view to forward by the quickest route to the German factories which have received orders for 

ammunition, the machines seized in the invaded territory of Belgium and France. It undertakes also to 

return these machines after the war to the Belgian and French factories to which they belong. 

• " The firm has the right and is under the obligation, with the assistance of the gun foundry of 
Liege, to set up in the factories of the territory under occupation machinery suitable for the manufacture 
of ammunition, and to advise as to the seizure of these machines. 

" The Royal Government indignantly protests against acts which are in flagrant violation of 
Article 53 of the Regulations annexed to the Fourth Hague Convention. The list contained in 
Article 53 is limited, and does not authorise either the seizure or the transport to another country 
of industrial machinery ; such machinery should on all occasions be left untouched when it is 
private property. (Article 46.) 

" The removal of the machines neutralises the efforts of the manufacturers to maintain some 
activity at their factories, condemns numerous workmen to idleness and to starvation, and will have 
the result of retarding the recovery of trade after the war. 

" Finally, the German Authorities also systematically disregarded the terms of Article 52 of the 
above-mentioned rules, under which requisitions in kind cannot be levied on communes or inhabitants 
except for the needs of the army of occupation. 

" I may mention by way of example : — 

" (rt) Advertisements in the German newspapers of sales to German farmers of stallions, mares 
and foals requisitioned in Belgium ; 

" (b) The despatch to Germany and on the Russian front of wines taken from private persons. 

" (c) The systematic felling of walnut trees, which are sent into Germany to be used for rifle 

stocks ; 
" (d) The seizure and transport to Germany of raw materials belonging to private persons, such 

as cotton, hemp, india-rubber, wool, nickel, copper or leather, the value of which amounts to 

tens of millions of francs ; 
" (e) The requisition in the suburbs of Jodoigne and in the district of Geer of 130 oxen and a 

large number of pigs, which were forwarded to Germany. 

" These illegal requisitions are all the more reprehensible in that they affect a population already 
ruined by the War, and deprive it of provisions absolutely indispensable to its subsistence." 

Protest of the Belgian Government addressed to neutral countries. 



AVIS 



Par ordre de 1'autorite 
allemande, il est prescrit : 

1° AUX MAKCHANDS DE VIN ; 

2° A TOL'S LES HABITANTS DE CHARLEROI 
ET DE LARRONDISSEMENT DE CHARLEROI. de 

dresser la lisle de tons les vms (|u'ils out en cave, en indiquanl 
le nornbre des I'uls el des honleilles, el les dillerenis erus. 
CES LISTEN DOIVEMT ETRE REMISES A L'HOTEL 
DE V1LLL, PEACE CHARLES II, AVAINT MAIMM 
24 COURANT. 

Ces vins ne peuvenl plus, jusqu'a nouvel ordre, etre enievt* 
3es caves des propritilaires. lis doivenl elre reserves en \uede 
la consoinmalion evenluelle de I'armee de catnpagne el seronl 
re(|iusilionnesconlre paiemenl, d'abord cliez les negociants, puis 
chez les habilanls. 

Celui qui ne donoera pas une <leclaralion exacle avanl 
la dale precilee aura son vin confisque. 

Charleroi, le 18 iNovemfbre 1914. 

Der Kreishauplmann 
YON OIEST 



9778 - lop Ancruaum el OT&rlu. ro, Palc^aDi. Juan. 

Translation.) NOTICE. 

BY ORDER OF THE GERMAN AUTHORITIES IT IS REQUIRED :— 

(i) OF WINE MERCHANTS ; 

(2) OF ALL THE INHABITANTS OF CHARLEROI AND OF THE DISTRICT OF CHARLEROI 
to draw up a list of all the wines they have in their cellars, showing the number of barrels and bottles and the different 
vintages. THESE LISTS MUST BE DEPOSITED AT THE HOTEL DE VILLE, PLACE CHARLES II, BEFORE 
TUESDAY, 24TH INSTANT. 

These wines must not, until further order, be removed from the cellars of the proprietors. They must be preserved 
with a view to their possible consumption by the army in the field, and will be requisitioned against payment, first, from 
the merchants, and afterwards from the inhabitants. 

Wine belonging to anyone who does not make an exact statement before the above-mentioned date, will be confiscated. 

Charleroi, 18th November 1914. 

Der Kreishauptmann 

VON DIEST 
Oberst. 
Notice posted at Charleroi on the 18th November, 1914. 



( <23 ) 

"SEIZURE" OF RAW MATERIALS. 

Francs. 

"Grain... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 18,000,000 

Linseed... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2,450,000 

Oil Cakes ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5,000,000 

Nitrates... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 4,000,000 

Animal and Vegetable oils 6,000,000 

Petrol and Mineral oils ..' ... 3,000,000 

Cotton stuffs 1,300,000 

India Rubber 10,000,000 

Leather goods imported from abroad ... ... ... ... ... 20,000,000 

Hair 1,150,000 

Ivory 451,000 

Wood 500,000 

Cocoas ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .... ... ... 2,000,000 

Wines 1,100,000 1 

Rice ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2,000,000 

Coffee ^75,ooo 

" Further, the whole stock of coffee, representing a value of 50 to 65 millions of francs, is held up 
by the German authorities." 

Approximate value of goods seized at Antwerp by the German Authorities. 
(Report of the President of the Chamber of Commerce.) 

"The greater part of the merchandise seized was removed and transported to Germany without any 
assessment. Part of it was carried away in motor vehicles without any vouchers being given of its 
requisition. After numerous steps had been taken the traders who were the victims of these proceedings 
succeeded in obtaining vouchers for the various quantities removed. 

" The situation has since been still further aggravated by the seizure of the stores of wood 
warehoused at Antwerp. 

"The German Authorities have lately sent the following notice to Wood Merchants : 

" ' Whatever is in your possession either on your own account or on the account of others in the way of pine 
joists of 5/09 centimetres, as broad as possible and at least 4 metres long, or pine planks, also as 
broad as possible and not less than 4 metres in length by about 21/8 centimetres in thickness, are 
seized or requisitioned by the German Army Department and will shortly be exported, to Germany. 

" ' You are responsible for the preservation warranty or insurance of the goods. The price will be fixed 
hereafter by the War Office at Berlin.' 

"Seizures of the same nature were made in all the industrial centres of the country. Everywhere 
raw materials have been carried away or are held up with a view to their being used to assist German 
trade. 

" In certain localities the Germans have gone still farther and compelled the manufacturers under 
threat or confiscation to prepare the raw materials requisitioned. Thus, MM. Cornesse Bros., Tanners 
at Stavelot, were informed that the German Authorites would remove the skins of their manufacture 
and compel them to cure, 300 skins per month for export to Berlin. 

" On the 17th March MM. Cornesse addressed the following protest to the German Governor 
general at Brussels, and to the Minister of War at Berlin : 

" ' The German Military Authority has just decided that tan hides of our manufacture will be removed 
by them and exported to Berlin where the price would be definitely fixed by a Commission 
appointed by the Minister of War. 

"'We can but protest against this seizure which is directly contrary to the international Convention 
drawn up at the Hague, especially as these hides are taken from us in order to be exported to 
Germany and worked in that Country.' " 

Extract from the 13th report of the Committee of Inquiry. 



iV' 



( 1^4 1 



Gesetz- und Verordnungsblatt 

fur die okkupierten Gebiete Belgians, 



I ties Lois el Arretes pour le terrileire Moe mi. 



4. JANLAH 121 J 



BEFEHL. 

Der belgischen Bevolkenmg wird hie-ucrch eine Krlegskonlribntton la Eghj rcn monatllrji 40 Hlfrioosil Franks fsr dio DtneT 
eines Jahres auferlegt. 

Die Verpflicbuing zur Zahlung liegt denneuo Proviozen ob, die fur die gssciroldajoa Betei^p l's Qss&mUdinklatf ba/ten. 

Die Zahlung der ersrea beideD Raten hat spatesteos bis 15. Januar 1915, die der folgenden Jaweila spatestens bis 10. etces jeden 
Monais an die Feldkriefpkaass des Kaiserlicben Generalgouvernemerjt3-in Cfuasel sa erfolgen. 

Werden zur BescbafTung von Zahtungsmitleln seitens der Provinzen Scbuldurfcujsden auocestolli, so besiimmt dercn Form und 
Inball der Katserlicbe Generalkommissar fur die Baoken in Belgien. 

BruKiel, den 10. Dezember 1914. 

D«r Ceoaralgouvcrneur in Bslgioa, 
Preflierr voit Busikc. 

BEVEL. 

Aan de bevolkmg van Belgje word! bierdoor eene oorlogscbslthij raaiEiiamiellJSs 40 mHieeo (raaten opgelcgd. voor den 
duur van een jaar 

De verplicbung tot betaling is asn de negen provincial opgolegd, dis dafirroor soilAiir aansprakelijk zije. 

Ite belafiDg der twee eerste aandeejbedragen moet gedaan, worden tea IsoisSa est dra IB' Januan 1915, do betaling der volgende 
aandeclsliedragen leder leu laatsie tot den 10° van iedere maand, aan d3 reldoorlogslas van bet Keuerlijk Generaal-Gouverncment 
in llmsscl 

Indien door de provincirn schuldbekenlemssen worden opgemaakt ten eindo betalingsmiddeten te verschaUcn. worden de lorni eo 
de mhoud ran deze schuldbekentenissen bcpaald door den heizerlijken Comaiisaaris Generaal voor de Banken in Belgie. 

Brusscl, den 10" December 1914 . , , 

De Gouverneur Generaal in Belgie, 

Baron von Bjssbg 

ORDBE 

II est impose a la population de Belgique une contribution de guerre s'elevant a 40 millions ue francs a payer merosuellcmeni pen- 
uant la duree d une annee 
Le paiemoat de ces monlanu est a la charge d« rteul provinces, qm en font usraes comsne debitricea solidaires. 
Les deua premieres mensvalUes soot a realiser.au plus lard le 13 janrier 1915. lea measttaJKes suiyawes an prus lard le CO da 
chacroe mois suivsnt 4 la caissc de I'lrata en campagne do Gouvernement General Imperial a Bmxolloa. 

Dans le cas oti les provinces dauslml remnnr a remission d'obJi'gstions a I'efTeUle se procurer Its foods oecessalrcs, la forme at 
la teneur de ess litres serent dcteminesa par le Corrrtoissaire General imperial pour les banqnes en Belgiqse. 
BniMlte, le 10 deconbro 49t4, , - 

Eiran von B-aase 
(Translation.) 

OFFICIAL BULLETIN OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS FOR THE BELGIAN 
TERRITORY UNDER OCCUPATION. 

BY ORDER. 

A war contribution of 40,000,000 francs is imposed upon the population of Belgium to be paid monthly during one year. 

The nine provinces will be responsible for this amount and will be held jointly liable for its payment. 

The two first monthly payments must be made not later than the 15th of January, 1915. The following payments not 
later than the 10th of each following month at the Treasury of the Army in the field and the Imperial General Government 
at Brussels. 

Should the provinces be compelled to have recourse to the issue of obligations in order to procure the necessary funds 
the form and tenor of this stock will be determined by the Imperial Commissioner General, as regards the banks in Belgium. 
Brussels, 10th December, 1914. 

Governor General in Belgium, 
Baron Von Bissing. 

of the Moniteur beige (under the control oi the Germans) containing an order imposing on Belgium 
a war contribution of 40,000,000 francs to be paid monthly. 



( M5 ) 



Gesetz- und Verordnungsblatt 



en 



nens. 



Lets et Affiles pour le 



19. JAMAH 1915. 



FEJIORDJVCKVG 

An. 1 Die fur das Jahr 1914 zur slaatlichen Personalsteuer veranlagten Belgier, die in oer Zeit nach Ausbrucli des Uriels 
Freiwillig ihren Wohnsitz verlassen und sich linger als zwei Monale ausserhalb Belgiens aufgehalien haben. Iiaben emen ausserordent- 
lichenSteuerzuschlag in Hohe dcs Zehnfachen der vorbezeichnelen Slcuor einschliesslich der Siaalszuschluge zu cnlnchtcn, (alls sie 
cichl bis zum 1. Marz 1915 in Bclgien wieder ihren Wohnsitz nehracn. 

Als ausserhalb Belgiens aurtialisam wird bis zum Beweise des Gegcnieils jeder Sleuerpflichugeangesehen, der sich nirhl an seinem 
belgischen Wohosuz aufgehalien hat Oder aufhali. 

An 2. Arlikel 1 findet keine Anwendung auf Sieuerpflichtige, bet clencn der Belrag der vorgenannlen fur lnl » rollcnnvssig reran- 
fflglen Sleuer einschliesslich dct Siaatszuschlage nicbl bobei isl als . 

33 Fr in Cemeinden bis 10000 Emwolmern ; 
45 Fr ii u von 10000 bis 23000 Emwobnern; 

00 Fr. » » von 23000 bis 50000 . 

80 Fr. » « von 50000 bis 73000 

100 Fr. ii ii von niehr als 73000 » 

Der Verwallungsohef bei dem Generalgouverneur v.ird ermachngt, aus Billigkeitsgrunden Befreiung von dem Sleuerzuschlag zu 
gcwahren. 

Art. 3 Vom Sleueraufkommen erhalt diei'Halftedas Geueralgouvernement in Belgien zur Deckung der Koslen der Verwallung dcs 
beseizten Cebiets gemass Artikel 48 und 49 der Haager Landknegsordnung; die andere Halite erhalt die Cemeinde, in der der Sleuer- 
pllichtigezu der in Artikel 1 bezeichneten Sleuer fur 1914 veranlagl ist. 
AH. 4. Die Sleuer isl spaieslens am 15. April 191S fallig und nach Ablaut dieses Tages im Zwangswege beizutreiben. 
Art. 5. Auf gleirhen Oder ahnlichen Vorausselzungen (Arlikel 1) bcruhende kommunale Sonderslcuerordniingen werdcn luermil 
aufgehoben und diirfen kunftig nicht erlassen werden. 

Art. 6 lliese Verordnung Inn soforl in Kraft. Der Verwallungsohef bei dem Generalgouverneur in Belgien wird mil ihrer 
Ausfuhning belraul. 

Brussel. den 10 Januar 1913 

Der Generalgouverneur in Belpj. 

Freiherr von Bissiv., 

Generalobersi 



vERonriEMsr. 

Ail 1 lie gedurende het |aar 1914 voor de personeelc , (.lasting voor den Slaal aangcslagen Bclgrn. die na he! uiibr.ken van den 
oorlog vrijwillig hun woonplaals verlaien en zirh langer din iwee maaml builen liclgi.: npgeliouden lirbhen. zull.n ccn bunengewonen 
belaslingbijslag ten bedrage van hei lienvou.le der \crmeuh bclasung, dr siaaisbijslag inhegrepen. i, bclalcn hebben. in g.-val 7ij 
niei vonr 1" Maari 1913 zirh wedcr in Belgie huisvcslen 

Als builen Belgn- verblijveml vvordi. zoolang niei heuegeudeel hewezen wordl, elk belaslingsehul.licc brschouwd. .lie mil niel id 
zijne Belgische woonplaiis opgehouden heelt ol oplioudi 



Page of the Moniteur beige containing an order increasing tenfold the personal contributions of 
Belgians absent from the country. 



( 126 ) 




The Kaiser : " You see you have lost everything." 

The King of the Belgians : " Not my soul." 

(Reproduced by special permission of the Proprietors of Punch.) 

The country that did not sell her soul. 



( i2 7 ) 



INDEX OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Belgium at the bar of History. 

Comparative maps of Belgium and Germany Frontispiece 

Leopold I, King of the Belgians 

Signatures of the plenipotentiaries to the Treaty of London, 1839 

Leopold II, King of the Belgians 

Notice of German Consul General of Antwerp 

Photograph of first page of ultimatum to Belgium 

Albert, King of the Belgians 

H. Davignon, Minister for Foreign Affairs 

Baron de Broqueville, Minister of War 

Baron Beyens, Belgian Minister in Germany 
Sir Edward Goschen, British Ambassador in Germany ... 
M. Jules Cambon, French Ambassador in Germany 
Extract from draft of " Document Barnardiston " ... 

War News placarded at Brussels by German Military Staff 

Motor cars equipped with mortars, lent by Austria to Germany 

Belgium before the Invasion. 

Proclamations of Belgian authorities at moment of invasion . 

Lieut. General Leman, commanding the fortified position of Liege 

M. Adolphe Max, Burgomaster of the City of Brussels ... 

Notices of M. Max, notice of von Luttwitz ... 

His Eminence Cardinal Mercier, Archbishop of Malines ... 

M. Henry Carton de Wiart, Belgian Minister of Justice ... 

Viscount Bryce, president of British Committee of Inquiry 

Germany's disregard of the rules of war. 
Wound caused by an expanding bullet 

Place Leopold at Namur before and after the German occupation 
Three open towns which have been destroyed (Louvain, Dinant, Termonde) 
What remains of the Library of the University of Louvain 
The hospital of Lierre after bombardment by the German Army 
The church of Vise burnt down by the Germans ... 
Church of St. Rombaut at Malines destroyed by the Germans ... 
Cloth Hall of Ypres destroyed by the Germans 
Safes broken open by the German Troops ... 
Incendiary tablets used by the Germans 

The late Monseigneur Charles Gustave Walravens, Bishop of Tournai... 
Mark painted on back of civil prisoners in Germany 

Letter of invitation to attend a requiem for 61 persons massacred at Olne 
House of the burgomaster at Aerschot, grave where he was buried with 93 others. Letter 

written by his wife to the President of the Committee of Inquiry ... 
Four victims of the massacre of Andenne ... ... ... ..: 

Scenes of horror at Andenne ... 

Notice placarded at Dinant ordering all holders of lists of bodies exhumed to give them to 

the military authorities ... 
The dead city of Dinant 
List of 336 victims killed at Tamines 

Bodies of persons shot on ruins of a burnt house at Tamines 
The Square and Church of St. Martin at Tamines 
The Station Square at Louvain 

Louvain : house in Station Street, Court-room of the Tribune, a school 
Facsimile of invitation to a requiem at Rome for priests and monks put to death by Germans 



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PAGE 

The Confession of Theorists, of Leaders and of Soldiers. 

Notice posted on the walls of the town of Hasselt by order of German military authorities 86 

Notice posted on the walls of Liege on August 24 88 

Notices posted at Brussels ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 90 

Order of Major Dieckmann, posted on the walls of the Commune of Grivegnee 92 

Door of house with inscription " Nicht plundern " ; notice forbidding plunder or arson 

without authorisation ; receipt for 100,000 francs "found" by a German officer ... 94 

Extract from diaries of Gaston Klein and a German soldier cyclist 96 

Page from the diary of Reservist Schlauter, and of Private Philipp 98 

Extract from diary of Pioneer Glode, and of a private in the Guards 100 

German ambulance attendants with arms and cartridge cases 102 

Letter found south of Baserode 104 

Letter found at Termonde ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 106 

German Staff at the Hotel de Ville, Louvain 108 

'' Gott mit uns.'' German device inscribed on soldiers' belts ... ... ... ... ... no 

Types of German officers and soldiers at Louvain 112 

Under the German Yoke. 

The Assembly Room of the Belgian House of Representatives transformed into a dormitory 

for troops 114 

Court Room of the Assize Court, Courts of Justice at Brussels, transformed into a 

Guardroom ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... n6 

Brabancon stallions and mares collected for exportation to Germany ; notice of sale of 

these horses as booty of war ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 118 

German notice concerning the removal of machinery from Belgium to Germany 120 

Notice posted at Charleroi ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 122 

Official Bulletin of Laws and Regulations for the Belgian Territory under occupation ... 124 
Page of Moniteur betge containing order increasing tenfold contributions of absentee 

Belgians ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 125 

" The country that did not sell her soul." Drawing by Bernard Partridge 126 



( 12 9 ) 

TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



A Word to the Reader 



Belgium at the Bar of History--- 

Speech of Leopold I, ioth November 1840... ... ... ... ... ••• ••• ••• - 

Foundations of Belgian Independence and Neutrality ... ... ... ... ... ... 3 

Order of 4th October 1840 3 

Article V of Treaty of 18 Articles, 26th June 1 83 1 3 

Article VII of Treaty of 19th April 1839 3 

Article I of Treaty ot London, 19th April 1839 ... ... ... ••• ••• ■•• 3 

Speech of Leopold II, 1870 4 

Confirmation of Belgian Neutrality ... ... ... ... ... ... •■■ •■■ ••■ 5 

Treaty signed at London, 9th August 1870 ... ... ... ... •• ••■ •■• 5 

Letter from Bismarck to the Belgian Minister (22 July 1870) 5 

5th Convention by the Hague ... ... ... ... ... ■•• ■■• •■• ••■ 5 

Verbal guarantees with regard to the neutrality of Belgium ... ... ... ... • • ■ 7 

Herr von Jagow to the Reichstag (29 April 1913) 7 

Herr von Heeringen at the same meeting ... ... ... ••• ■•■ ••• ••• 7 

Letter from M. Davignon, 31st July 1914 7 

Herr von Below, 2nd August 1914 ... ... ... ... •-• •■• ••• ••• 7 

The bargain offered by Germany to Belgium ... ... ... ••• ■•• ••• ••• 9 

The German Ultimatum ... ... ... ... ... ••• ••• ■•■ ••• •■■ 9 

Proclamation of King Albert to the Army ... ... ... ... ■•■ ■•• ■■• ••• IO 

Belgium ready and united ... ... ... ... ... •■• ■•• ••■ ■•• ••■ I! 

King's Speech to the Belgian Parliament, 4th August 1914 , II 

Letter of M. Davignon I2 

Speech of Baron de Broqueville ... ... ... ... •■• ••• ••• ••■ ■■• I2 

The Proffered bargain rejected ... ... ... ... ••• ••■ ■•■ •■• ••• J 3 

Reply to the German Ultimatum ! 3 

Admission of the violation of international law by German officials 14 

Great Britain, guardian of the sanctity of Treaties *5 

Extract of Sir E. Goschen's report of 4th August 1914 J 5 

German premeditation... ... ... ... ... ... ••• ••• ■•■ •■• ■•■ I 7 

Letter from M. Jules Cambon, 22 November 1913 I 7 

Extract from secret report on German army, 19th March 1913 17 

Extracts from General von Bernhardi ... ... ... ••• "■•- ••• ••■ ••• 1 7 

Deutsche Kriege Zeitung, 2 September 1914 1 7 

Tardy and flimsy excuses ... ... ... ... ••• ••• ■■• ••• ■■■ ■•■ : 9 

German translation and alteration of the " document Barnardiston '' 19 

Austria- Hungary anxious to support German force 2I 

Declaration of war, 28th August 1914 , 2I 

Reply of the Belgian Government .... ... ... •■• •-■ ■•• ••■ ■■• 2I 

Statement of the Austrian Colonel Albert Langer 22 

Belgium before the Invasion — 

How the civil population was prepared to receive the enemy 2 7 

Circular issued by the Minister of the Interior 2 7 

Notice published daily in all newspapers 2 7 

The honour of the Belgian Army 2 ^ 

Letter from Lieut.-General Leman 2 

King Albert's message to the Army 2 ° 

Notices issued by M. Max 3^ 

Extract from Pastoral Letter of Cardinal Merrier 33 

Speech of M. Henry Carton de Wiart 34 

The Belgian Government as Guardian of International Law 35 

Extracts from the Moniteur beige 35 

Conclusion of the British Inquiry Committee's report ■•• 3° 



( i3° ) 



Germany's disregard of the rules of war. 

Manifesto by 93 German savants, artists and professors ... ' 
Honour in war : forbidden projectiles ... ... ... ' ... 

Article 23 of the Hague Rules of War... 

Seizure of dum-dum bullets on a German officer 

Report of an expert armourer ... 

Certificate of doctor, hospital and ambulance attendants 
Honour in war : forbidden methods of war 

Extract from report of Committee of Inquiry on asphyxiating gases 
Honour in war : the protection of the wounded ... 

Extract from reports of the Committee of Inquiry 

The destruction of open towns — Louvain, Dinant, Termonde ... 

Extract from Cardinal Mercier's letter... 

Conclusions of the Reports of the Committee of Inquiry 
The destruction of forbidden places : buildings devoted to science 

Article 27 of the Hague Rules of War... 

Report of M. Delannoy, Librarian of the University of Louvain 
The destruction of forbidden places : buildings devoted to charitable objects 

Extracts from reports of the Inquiry Committee 
The destruction of forbidden places : buildings devoted to worship 

Profanation of church of Hastieres 

State of the church at Aerschot... 

Extract from Lent charge of Bishop Heylen concerning churches in dio 
The destruction of forbidden places : historical monuments 

Saint Rombaut cle Marines 

The Halles of Ypres 
Forbidden pillage 

Art. '28 and 47 of the Hague Rules of War 

The Sack of Termonde ... 

The Sack of Dinant 

The Sack of Louvain 

Conclusion of the Report of the English Committee 
Respect of private property ... 

Report of Belgian military authority on destruction at Termonde 

Analysis of incendiary tablets ... 

Conclusions of the Report ot the English Committee 
Respect for non-combatants : Hostages 

Preamble and Art. 23 of Hague Rules of War 

Extract from iqth Report of Committee of Inquiry ... 

Conclusions of Report of the English Committee 
Civilian prisoners 

Affirmation of Cardinal Mercier 

Extracts from 10th Report of the Committee of Inquiry 
Wholesale reprisals : the first massacres 

Letter from the cure at Battice ... 
The massacres at Aerschot ... 

Evidence of Dr. L. H. Grondjis, a Dutch subject 

List of the 155 bodies exhumed 
The massacres at Andenne 

Extract from nth Report of the Committee of Inquiry 

List of 103 bodies identified after exhumation 
The martyrdom of Andenne ... 

Text of nth Report of the Committee of Inquiry 
Massacres at Dinant 

Extracts from lists of persons exhumed 
The Martyrdom of Dinant 

Text of nth Report of the Committee of Inquiry 
Massacres at Tamines ... 

Report of the Committee of Inquiry 



ese of 



Namur 



I 131 ) 



Germany's disregard of the rules of war — continued. 

The Martyrdom of Tamines ... 

Deposition of a witness before the Commitee of Inquiry 
Massacres at Louvain ... 

Extract from Dc Tyd 

Speech of Cardinal Mercier 

Conclusions of the Report of the English Committee 
The Martyrdom of Louvain ... 

Letter from P. Gamarra 
The life of individuals : priests put to death 

Extracts from Cardinal Mercier's letter 
The innocent victim 

The legend of the " Franc- tireurs'' 

The reality of German atrocities 



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The Confession of Theorists, of Leaders and of Soldiers. 

The system of terrorism and its principles ... 

Introduction to Kriegsgeb ranch im Landkriege ... 

Extract from Das Internationale Landsgriegsrecht 

German official message, 27th August 1914 ... 

Extract from Kolnische Zeitung ... 
Wholesale repression : its formulas ... 

Extracts from I'Interprete militaire, published at Berlin 
Reprisals : the application of principles and employment of formulas 

Proclamations of von der Goltz and von Luttwitz at Brussels 
Hostages: theory and practice 

Extract from Kriegsgebranch im Landkrieg 

Extract from order of Major Dieckmann 

Proclamation posted at Namur ... 
Daily pillage and incendiarism 

Extracts from campaign diaries 
Louvain and Aerschot ... 

Extracts from two diaries 
Massacres of civilians ... 

Extracts from diaries 
The killing of the wounded ... 

Extracts from diaries 
The German conscience 

Two orders issued by von Bissing 
The kind of mentality required 

Letters written by Germans 

Information given to German population 
After a month of war : daily and systematic calumny 

Telegram of Kaiser to President Wilson 

Letter from Prince Henry XXXIII of Reuss ... 

Extracts from German diaries ... 
After eight months of war : positive and official refutation 

Extract from Vorwaerts, of Berlin 

Extract from Der Fels 



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Under the German Yoke — 

Systematic Expropriation 

Article 52 of the Hague Rules of War 

Extract from 13th Report of the Committee of Inquiry 

Extract from report published by the Rockfeller Foundation 
The reign of informers and arbitrary trials 

Extracts from protest to the German Governor at Brussels... 



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( *32 ) 



Under the German Yoke — continued. 

A long coveted national source of wealth ... 

Extract from 13th Report of the Committee of Inquiry 

Extract from Deutsche Tageszeitung 

Extract from KoJnische Zeitung .. 
Industrial ruin ... 

Article 53 of the Hague Rules of War 

Protest of Belgian Government . 
" Seizure " of raw materials ... 

Extract from 13th Report of the Committee of Inquiry 
Index of Illustrations ... 
Table of Contents 



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